Apparatuses, methods, and computer program products for flicker reduction in a multi-sensor environment

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the disclosure relate generally to flicker reduction in a multi-imager environment. Embodiments include methods, computer program products, and apparatuses configured for producing a near-field illumination using a near-field illuminator, the near-field illumination produced at a defined pulse train. A near-field image sensor may be exposed near the start of a near-field illumination pulse, and a far-field image sensor may be exposed between pulses of the near-field illumination. Some embodiments, additionally or alternatively, are configured for detecting an illuminator switch event, deactivating the near-field illuminator source, and producing, using a far-field illuminator source, a far-field illumination. Upon switching the illuminator source, some such embodiments are configured for exposing a far-field illuminator near the start of the far-field illumination pulse, and exposing a near-field image sensor near the start of the next available far-field illumination pulse. Such image capture may repeat until an image processing task such as barcode reading is successful.

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to reducingflicker caused by a plurality of light sources, and specifically toflicker reduction in a multi-sensor environment including a plurality ofimage sensors and/or illuminator sources while enabling effectivesuccessful completion of an image processing task, such as barcodescanning and/or other visual indicia reading.

BACKGROUND

Imaging engines, for example used for barcode reading, include one ormore light sources that produce light to illuminate a particular fieldof view. The light may illuminate a field of view to be captured by theengine, and/or one or more associated components, to produce one or moreimages for processing. For example, the imaging engine may capture oneor more images for performing a particular image processing task. In oneexample context, the imaging engine defines an image processingapparatus utilized for barcode reading. However, in some conventionalimplementations, light flicker from one or more light sources can causevisually unappealing implementations, or in some circumstancesphysically harmful implementation (for example, due to negativelyaffecting the eyes of an observer and/or triggering conditions such asepilepsy). Specifically in the context of multi-imager environments(e.g., including a plurality of imagers and/or a plurality of lightsources), naïve implementations for capturing images, such as byalternating between imagers and/or light sources, exacerbate suchflickering effects, and therefore exacerbate the negative effectsassociated therewith. Applicant has discovered problems with currentimplementations of reducing flicker in a multi-imager environment.Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation, Applicant has solvedmany of these identified problems by developing embodied in the presentdisclosure, which are described in detail below.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In general, embodiments of the present disclosure provided herein areconfigured for flicker reduction in a multi-imager environment. Otherimplementations for one or more of the alternative illuminatorassemblies and/or alternative illumination imaging apparatuses will be,or will become, apparent to one with skill in the art upon examinationof the following figures and detailed description. It is intended thatall such additional implementations be included within this descriptionbe within the scope of the disclosure, and be protected by the followingclaims.

In accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure, amethod for flicker reduction in a multi-imager environment is provided.The method may be implemented using any one of a myriad ofimplementations, such as via hardware, software, and/or firmware of amulti-sensor imaging engine and/or multi-sensor imaging apparatus asdescribed herein. In at least one example implementation of the method,the example method includes producing, using a near-field illuminatorsource, a near-field illumination associated with at least onenear-field illumination pulse. The example method further includesexposing a near-field image sensor during a first near-fieldillumination pulse of the at least one near-field illumination pulse.The example method further includes generating a near-field image basedon the exposure of the near-field image sensor. The example methodfurther includes exposing a far-field image sensor such that theexposure of the far-field image sensor is not during any of the at leastone near-field illumination pulse. The example method further includesgenerating a far-field image based on the exposure of the far-fieldimage sensor. The example method further includes detecting anilluminator switch event. The example method further includesdeactivating the near-field illuminator source. The example methodfurther includes producing, using a far-field illuminator source, afar-field illumination associated with at least one far-fieldillumination pulse.

Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments of the method, themethod further comprises exposing the near-field image sensor such thatthe beginning of the exposure of the near-field image sensor isnear-aligned with a first far-field pulse start time of a firstfar-field illumination pulse of the at least one far-field illuminationpulse; generating a second near-field image based on the exposure of thefar-field image sensor near-aligned with the first far-field pulse starttime; exposing the far-field image sensor such that the beginning of theexposure of the far-field image sensor is near-aligned with a secondfar-field pulse start time of a second far-field illumination pulse ofthe at least one far-field illumination pulse; and generating a secondfar-field image based on the exposure of the far-field image sensornear-aligned with the second far-field pulse start time. Additionally oralternatively, in some such embodiments of the example method, themethod further comprises in response to generating the second near-fieldimage, determining a timing offset until a next far-field pulse starttime associated with a next far-field illumination pulse of the at leastone far-field illumination pulse, wherein the exposing the near-fieldimage sensor near-aligned with the second far-field pulse start timeoccurs after the timing offset has elapsed. Additionally oralternatively, in some such embodiments of the example method, themethod further comprises in response to generating the second far-fieldimage, determining a timing offset until a next far-field pulse starttime associated with a next far-field illumination pulse of the at leastone far-field illumination pulse, wherein the exposing the near-fieldimage sensor near-aligned with the first far-field pulse start timeoccurs after the timing offset has elapsed.

Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments of the examplemethod, the method further comprises in response to generating thenear-field image, determining a timing offset until a next near-fieldpulse start time associated with a next near-field illumination pulse ofthe at least one near-field illumination pulse; and determining thetiming offset is longer than an exposure time associated with thefar-field image sensor, wherein the exposing the far-field image sensoroccurs in response to determining the timing offset is longer than theexposure time associated with the far-field image sensor.

Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments of the examplemethod, the method further comprises in response to generating thenear-field image, determining a timing offset until a next near-fieldpulse start time associated with a next near-field illumination pulse ofthe at least one near-field illumination pulse, wherein the exposing thefar-field image sensor occurs after delaying for a length of timerepresented by the timing offset combined with a difference between thenext near-field pulse start time associated with the next near-fieldillumination pulse and a next near-field pulse end time associated withthe next near-field illumination pulse.

Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments of the examplemethod, the method further comprises in response to generating thefar-field image, determining a timing offset until a next near-fieldpulse start time associated with a next near-field illumination pulse ofthe at least one near-field illumination pulse, wherein the exposing thenear-field image sensor occurs after the timing offset has elapsed.

Additionally or alternatively, the near-field illuminator sourceproduces the at least one near-field illumination pulse based on adefined pulse frequency and a defined pulse phase, and wherein thefar-field illuminator source produces the at least one far-fieldillumination pulse based on the defined pulse frequency and the definedpulse phase.

Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments of the examplemethod, detecting the illuminator switch event comprises determiningeach captured image of a captured image set is associated with an imageproperty that does not satisfy an image property threshold, wherein thecaptured image set comprises at least the near-field image and thefar-field image, wherein the captured image set comprises a number ofcaptured images, and wherein the number of captured images satisfies anear-illuminator capture threshold. Additionally or alternatively, insome such embodiments of the example method, the method further theimage property comprises an image white level value, and wherein theimage property threshold comprises a minimum white level threshold.

Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments of the examplemethod, the beginning of the exposure of the far-field image sensor isnear-aligned with a first near-field pulse end time of the firstnear-field illumination pulse.

Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments of the examplemethod, the method further comprises processing the far-field image todetermine an image property associated with the far-field image does notsatisfy an image property threshold associated with the image property;and altering at least one of an exposure time value for the far-fieldimage sensor or a gain value for the far-field image sensor.

Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments of the examplemethod, the method further comprises detecting a near-field illuminatorreactivation event; deactivating the far-field illuminator source; andproducing the near-field illumination using the near-field illuminatorsource.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, anapparatus for flicker reduction in a multi-image environment isprovided. The apparatus may be implemented in any combination ofhardware, software, and/or firmware as described herein. In at least oneexample embodiment, the apparatus comprises a multi-sensor imagingengine comprising at least a near-field illuminator source, a far-fieldilluminator source, a near-field image sensor, and a far-field imagesensor. The example apparatus further includes a processor incommunication with the multi-sensor imaging engine, which may beembodied in any one of a myriad of implementations via hardware,software, and/or firmware (including, without limitation, a memory,microprocessor, ASIC, FPGA, and/or the like). In some embodiments of theapparatus, the processor includes or is in communication with one ormore memory device(s). The processor of the example apparatus configuresthe apparatus to perform any one of the example methods describedherein.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present disclosure, acomputer program product for flicker reduction in a multi-imagerenvironment is provided. The computer program product comprises at leastone non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer codestored thereon. The computer program code, in execution with at leastone processor, is configured for performing any one of the examplemethods described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus described the embodiments of the disclosure in generalterms, reference now will be made to the accompanying drawings, whichare not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an example multi-sensor imagingengine, in accordance with at least one example embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example multi-sensor imagingapparatus, in accordance with at least one example embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a visualization of field of views associated with anexample multi-sensor imaging apparatus, in accordance with at least oneexample embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a visualization of a first illumination produced byan example multi-sensor imaging apparatus, in accordance with at leastone example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a visualization of a second illumination produced byan example multi-sensor imaging apparatus, in accordance with at leastone example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a timing diagram associated with operationalfunctionality of a multi-sensor imaging apparatus, in accordance with atleast one example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart depicting example operations of a processfor flicker reduction in a multi-imager environment, in accordance withat least one example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates additional operations for an example process forflicker reduction in a multi-imager environment, specifically forproperly aligning exposure of the far-field image sensor, in accordancewith at least one example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates additional operations for an example process forflicker reduction in a multi-imager environment, specifically forproperly aligning exposure of the near-field image sensor, in accordancewith at least one example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates additional operations for an example process forflicker reduction in a multi-imager environment, specifically fortriggering an illuminator switch event, in accordance with at least oneexample embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 illustrates additional operations for an example process forflicker reduction in a multi-imager environment, specifically fordetecting an illuminator switch event, in accordance with at least oneexample embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 illustrates additional operations for an example process forflicker reduction in a multi-imager environment, specifically forcapturing images utilizing a far-field illumination, in accordance withat least one example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 illustrates additional operations for an example process forflicker reduction in a multi-imager environment, specifically forproperly aligning exposure of the far-field image sensor during thefar-field illumination, in accordance with at least one exampleembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 illustrates additional operations for an example process forflicker reduction in a multi-imager environment, specifically forproperly aligning exposure of the near-field image sensor during thefar-field illumination, in accordance with at least one exampleembodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 15 illustrates additional operations for an example process forflicker reduction in a multi-imager environment, specifically fornear-field illuminator reactivation, in accordance with at least oneexample embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure now will be described more fullyhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some,but not all, embodiments of the disclosure are shown. Indeed,embodiments of the disclosure may be embodied in many different formsand should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forthherein, rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosurewill satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to likeelements throughout.

Overview

Imaging apparatuses, such as barcode scanners, often include a lightgeneration source for illuminating a field of view to be captured by acamera imager in the imaging apparatus. Controlling the illumination ofsuch apparatuses is useful for both providing a visual appearance thatis preferable to operators of the device, and that functions safely forthe operator. For example, if an illumination pulses within a certainfrequency range (e.g., below a certain threshold frequency), theoperator could experience headaches and/or seizures from viewingexposure to the illumination. In multi-imager contexts having aplurality of illuminator sources, each illuminator source should beconfigured accordingly to prevent such negative health effects andundesired visual appearance. Regardless, if illuminators are cycledthrough and/or otherwise often switched between, the operator mayexperience a “flickering” that may be undesirable or harmful as well.

Such risks are furthered in circumstances where a plurality of imagesensors are connected to a single port for processing, such thatstreaming modes commonly used for image acquisition cannot be used andinstead image sensors are operated in a triggered mode. In this regard,the potential frame rate of each image sensor is reduced at longerexposure times. However, if illuminations were strobed at lowerframerates, an undesirable illumination flicker would be visible to theuser, and if strobed at a low frequency range, can cause theabove-described health problems. Switching image sensors at a lowfrequency instead may negatively impact the time to read from each imagesensor, and thus is not preferable in some contexts.

Further, utilizing a single illuminator may be undesirable or have othernegative effects on operation of the imaging apparatus. For example, insmall form factor implementations at least one illuminator may reflectsufficient light off of one or more components (such as a frontprotective window of the apparatus) that hinders operation of one ormore image sensors. Additionally or alternatively, at least oneilluminator may fail to illuminate a sufficient portion of the field ofview to be captured by one or more image sensors. Accordingly, relianceon only a single illuminator or no illuminator at all may result in anineffective implementation in one or more contexts.

In this regard, embodiments described herein provide for flickerreduction in a multi-imager environment, for example that include aplurality of illuminator sources and a plurality of image sensors.Specifically, embodiments utilize a first illuminator designed forilluminating a first field of view associated with a first image sensor,and capture image(s) utilizing the first image sensor during one or moreillumination pulses of the illumination. Embodiments further captureimages utilizing a second image sensor, or a plurality of otherilluminators, between illumination pulses, such that ambient light fromthe previous illumination pulse is used for capture without the fullillumination pulse. In this regard, such ambient light may sufficientlyilluminate a field of view to capture an image having sufficient datafor processing without reflection significant enough to hinder captureof the intended field of view by the image sensor.

In some embodiments, one or more events may be triggered indicatingcircumstances where activation should be switched to a secondilluminator. In this regard, the second illuminator may produce a secondillumination designed for illuminating a second field of view, forexample associated with a second image sensor. In one such examplecontext, the change in illuminator source may be triggered afterdetermining an object to be captured is not detectable within thecaptured images in a first field of view using ambient lightillumination, and thus is likely at a further distance from the imagingapparatus. This change in illuminator source may be triggered inresponse to detecting one or more events and/or circumstances, forexample in response to processing one or more previously captured imagesto determine a threshold number of images have been captured, and thatno object is detectable within the captured images in very low lightingconditions (e.g., below a certain white value threshold). In suchcircumstances, the change to another illuminator source enables theimage sensor to be triggered during the illumination pulses of the newlyactivated illuminator source to improve the effective reading range ofthe apparatus. In embodiments having more than two illuminator sources,the same considerations may continue for cycling through more than twoilluminator sources, for example narrowing the field of view illuminatedby each illuminator and extending the effective range with each cycle.Alternatively, one or more illuminator sources may be skipped, forexample where the cycle immediately proceeds from a broadest illuminatorsource to a narrowest illuminator source without utilizing one or moreintermediate illuminator source(s).

Such embodiments provide flicker reduction and/or flicker eliminationwhile enabling effective and efficient capturing of images forprocessing. Specifically, in this regard, the operation of suchembodiments captures images in a manner likely to result in successfullycompleting an image processing task, such as barcode scanning, whilereducing flicker and increasing the likelihood an image is capturedwithin a desired operational time frame that includes data sufficientfor successful processing. In this regard, the operational efficiencyand effectiveness of the imaging apparatus is maintained or improvedwhile illumination flicker is reduced.

Definitions

In some embodiments, some of the operations above may be modified orfurther amplified. Furthermore, in some embodiments, additional optionaloperations may be included. Modifications, amplifications, or additionsto the operations above may be performed in any order and in anycombination.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the disclosure set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which thisdisclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in theforegoing description and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is tobe understood that the embodiments are not to be limited to the specificembodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments areintended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.Moreover, although the foregoing descriptions and the associateddrawings describe example embodiments in the context of certain examplecombinations of elements and/or functions, it should be appreciated thatdifferent combinations of elements and/or functions may be provided byalternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appendedclaims. In this regard, for example, different combinations of elementsand/or functions than those explicitly described above are alsocontemplated as may be set forth in some of the appended claims.Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a genericand descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

The term “illuminator source” refers to one or more light generatinghardware, devices, and/or components configured to produce anillumination within a desired field of view. Non-limiting examples of anilluminator source includes one or more light emitting diode(s) (LEDs),laser(s), and/or the like.

The term “near-field illuminator source” refers to an illuminator sourceconfigured to produce an illumination configured for illuminating anear-field of view associated with a near-field imager. In at least oneexample context, the near-field illuminator source is configured toproduce an illumination in a wider field of view as compared to that ofa far-field illuminator source.

The term “far-field illuminator source” refers to an illuminator sourceconfigured to produce an illumination configured for illuminating afar-field of view associated with a far-field imager. In at least oneexample context, the far-field illuminator source is configured toproduce an illumination in a narrower field of view as compared to thatof a near-field illuminator source.

The term “illumination” refers to one or more light rays produced by anilluminator source within a defined field of view. In at least oneexample context, the illumination includes one or more illuminationpulses produced by a corresponding illuminator source. In someembodiments, an illumination is produced based on a “defined pulsefrequency,” which refers to a rate at which illumination pulses areproduced by a illuminator source. Additionally or alternatively, in someembodiments, an illumination is produced based on a “defined pulsephase,” which refers to a period of activation for which an illuminatorsource is producing a corresponding illumination.

In at least one example context, an illumination comprises any number ofillumination pulses, such as one or a plurality of illumination pulses.In at least one such context, an illumination pulse is associated withan “illumination pulse start time,” which refers to electronicallymanaged data representing a time at which a corresponding illuminatorsource will begin producing the illumination pulse. Additionally oralternatively, in at least one such context, an illumination pulse isassociated with an “illumination pulse end time,” which refers toelectronically managed data representing a time at which a correspondingilluminator source will cease producing the illumination pulse.

The term “near-field illumination” refers to a particular illuminationproduced by a near-field illuminator. In some embodiments, thenear-field illumination is associated with illumination of a near fieldof view captured by a near-field imager. The term “near-fieldillumination pulse” refers to an illumination pulse of a near-fieldillumination. In at least one example context, each near-fieldillumination pulse is associated with at least a “near-field pulse starttime” and a “near-field pulse end time.”

The term “far-field illumination” refers to a particular illuminationproduced by a far-field illuminator. In some embodiments, the far-fieldillumination is associated with illumination of a far field of viewcaptured by a far-field imager. The term “far-field illumination pulse”refers to an illumination pulse of a far-field illumination. In at leastone example context, each far-field illumination pulse is associatedwith at least a “far-field pulse start time” and a “far-field pulse endtime.”

The term “next pulse” refers to an illumination pulse associated with anillumination pulse start time temporally to occur next. For example, inat least one example context, an illuminator source is configured toactivate and produce an illumination pulse for a predetermined length oftime, then deactivate to cease producing the illumination pulse for asecond predetermined length of time, then producing the nextillumination pulse.

During producing of a near-field illumination, the term “next near-fieldpulse” refers to the next pulse to be produced of the near-fieldillumination, for example based on a next near-field pulse start time.During producing of a far-field illumination, the term “next far-fieldpulse” refers to the next pulse to be produced of the far-fieldillumination, for example based on a next far-field pulse start time.

The term “imager” refers to one or more components configured forcapturing an image representing a particular field of view. In at leastone example context, an imager includes at least one optical component(e.g., lens(es) and/or associated housing(s)) defining a particularfield of view. Additionally or alternatively, in at least one examplecontext, an imager includes an image sensor configured to output animage based on light that engages with the image sensor, such as via theoptical components.

The term “near-field imager” refers to an imager configured forcapturing an image of a near field of view. In at least one context, thenear-field imager comprises at least one near-field optical component(s)defining the near field of view, and a near-field image sensor. The term“near-field image” refers to electronic data generated by the near-fieldimager that embodies a captured representation of the near field ofview.

The term “far-field imager” refers to an imager configured for capturingan image of a far-field of view. In at least one context, the far-fieldimager comprises at least one far-field optical component(s) definingthe far field of view, and a far-field image sensor. The term “far-fieldimage” refers to electronic data generated by the far-field imager thatembodies a captured representation of the far field of view.

The term “image sensor” refers to one or more components configured togenerate an image represented by a data object based on light incidenton the image sensor. In some such example contexts, an image sensorconverts light waves that interact with the image sensor into signalsrepresenting an image output by the sensor.

The term “exposure time value” refers to electronic data representing alength of time that an image sensor is configured for exposure tooncoming light. In at least one example embodiment, an image sensor ofan imager is configured to utilize a variable exposure time that may beset to a particular exposure time value.

The term “gain value” refers to electronic data representing anamplification factor for the signal generated by an image sensor of animager. In at least one example embodiment, an image sensor of an imageris configured to utilize a variable gain that may be set to a particulargain value.

The term “image property” refers to electronic data embodying one ormore characteristics of an image. Non-limiting examples of an imageproperty include an image white level value or other brightness value.

The term “image property threshold” refers to electronic datarepresenting a threshold value that, in a circumstance where acorresponding image property value for a particular image satisfies thethreshold value (e.g., by exceeding the threshold value or being lowerthan the threshold value), indicates one or more determinations.

The term “minimum white level threshold” refers to an example imageproperty threshold representing a minimum white level value that, in acircumstance where a white level value for a particular image is lessthan the minimum white level value, the image is determined to bedeficient.

The term “captured image set” refers to one or more images forprocessing associated with a particular image processing task, andcaptured by any number of imagers. In some embodiments, for example,activation alternates between a near-field imager and a far-field imagerfor capturing the captured image set.

The term “near-illuminator capture threshold” refers to electronic datarepresenting a maximum number of images that, if one or more imageproperties fail to satisfy a corresponding image property threshold,indicates and/or otherwise triggers a illuminator switch event.

The term “near-aligned” refers to a timestamp that matches, or is withina maximum predetermined time differential from, an associated timestamp.For example, in the context of sensor exposure and illumination pulses,triggering the beginning of exposure of an image sensor can be at acorresponding pulse start time, within a maximum length from the pulsestart time (e.g., within pulse_start_time−X and pulse_start_time+X,where X is the maximum predetermined time differential).

The term “illuminator switch event” refers to an electronicdetermination that a currently activated illuminator source should bedeactivated, and a second illuminator source should be activated. Insome embodiments, an illuminator switch event only indicatesdeactivation of a near-field illuminator source and activation of afar-field illuminator source. In other embodiments, an illuminatorswitch event indicates alternating from activating a near-fieldilluminator source to activating a far-field illuminator source, or fromactivating a far-field illuminator to activating a near-fieldilluminator source.

The term “near-field illuminator reactivation event” refers to anelectronic determination that for activating a near-field imager afterswitching activation from the near-field imager to a far-field imager.In some embodiments, for example, once the far-field imager is switchedto an activated, the near-field illumination reactivation event isembodied by reactivation of an activation component for the imagingapparatus. In other embodiments, once the far-field imager is switchedto and activated, the near-field reactivation event is associated withone or more capture threshold(s) and/or image property threshold(s).

The term “timing offset” refers to electronic data representing a lengthof time before subsequent activation of an imager after successfulreadout of an image by the previously activated imager. For example, inan example context where capture alternates between a near-field imagerand a far-field imager, the timing offset represents a length of timebefore activation of the next imager in the alternating cycle. In acircumstance where a far-field imager was last activated, the timingoffset may represent a length of time before subsequent activation ofthe near-field imager.

The term “delay” refers to execution of one or more software, hardware,and/or firmware implemented operations after a predetermined and/ordetermined length of time. In some embodiments, an embodiment delaysexecution of one or more operations, processes, and/or sub-processes bywaiting (e.g., performing no operations) for a particular time interval,performing one or more alternative and/or parallel operations during thetime interval, and/or scheduling execution of the operation after thetime interval. In some embodiments, for example in alternating capturesbetween two or more imagers, one or more processing components isconfigured to delay for a timing offset before activation of a nextimager in the alternating cycle.

Example Apparatuses of the Present Disclosure

FIG. 1 illustrates an example multi-sensor imaging engine in accordancewith at least one example embodiment of the present disclosure.Specifically, as illustrated, the example multi-sensor imaging engine isembodied by a multi-sensor imaging engine 100. The multi-sensor imagingengine 100 includes a plurality of imagers, specifically a near-fieldimager and a far-field imager, configured for capturing image dataobjects in a near field of view associated with the near-field imagerand a far field of view associated with the far-field imager. In atleast one example context, the multi-sensor imaging engine 100 isconfigured for capturing images for purposes of barcode reading atdifferent ranges, such as a close-range using the near-field imager anda far-range using the far-field imager.

As illustrated, the multi-sensor imaging engine 100 includes near-fieldimage capture optics 104A. The near-field capture optics 104A may beembodied by one or more lens(es) and/or other optical componentsconfigured to enable light to transverse through and interact with acorresponding image sensor, specifically the near-field image sensor102A. In this regard, the near-field image capture optics 104A maydefine a particular field of view that may be captured by the near-fieldimage sensor 102A. In some embodiments, the near-field image captureoptics 104A defines a near field of view associated with a first focalrange, such that objects located at and/or within a determinable offsetfrom the first focal range may be clear in images captured by thenear-field image sensor 102A.

Additionally as illustrated, the multi-sensor imaging engine 100includes far-field image capture optics 104B. The far-field imagecapture optics 104B may be embodied by one or more len(es) and/or otheroptical components configured to enable light to transverse through andinteract with a corresponding image sensor, specifically the far-fieldimage sensor 102B. In this regard, the far-field image capture optics104B may define a second field of view that may be captured by thefar-field image sensor 102B. In some embodiments, the far-field imagecapture optics 104B defines a far field of view that is associated witha second focal range, such that objects located at and/or within adeterminable offset from the second focal range may be clear in imagescaptured by the far-field image sensor 102B. In some such embodiments,the near field of view is wider than the far field of view, such thatthe captured data represents more of the environment within view of themulti-sensor imaging engine 100. The far field of view may be narrowerthan the near field of view, and focused on a further range to enableclearer capture of objects located at a greater range than objects thatcan be captured clearly in the near field of view.

In some embodiments, for example as illustrated, each imager (or asubset thereof) is associated with one or more components for producingan illumination configured for illuminating the field of view defined bythe imager. For example, as illustrated, the multi-sensor imaging engine100 additionally comprises the near-field illuminator source 106B andcorresponding near-field projection optics 108B. The near-fieldilluminator source 106B is configured to produce light in the directionof the near-field projection optics 108B. This light is refractedthrough the near-field projection optics 108B to produce a near-fieldillumination, which may be produced in a desired pattern based on theconfiguration and design of the near-field projection optics 108B. Inthis regard, the illumination produced by light exiting the near-fieldprojection optics 108B may illuminate a particular field of view, suchas the near field of view capturable by the near-field image sensor102A. It should be appreciated that in some embodiments, the near-fieldilluminator source 106B and/or near-field projection optics 108B may bedesigned such that the near field illumination specifically illuminatesthe near field of view, and may affect the functioning of the far-fieldimage sensor 102B without negatively affecting the functioning of thenear-field image sensor 102A. For example, due at least in part to theclose proximity between the components, reflected light may interactwith the far-field image sensor 102B and negatively affect the imagescreated via far-field image sensor 102B.

Similarly, the multi-sensor imaging engine 100 additionally comprisesthe far-field illuminator source 106A and corresponding far-fieldprojection optics 108A. The far-field illuminator source 106A isconfigured to produce light in the direction of the far-field projectionoptics 108A. This light is refracted through the far-field projectionoptics 108A to produce a far-field illumination, which may be producedin a desired pattern based on the configuration and design of thefar-field projection optics 108A. In this regard, the far-fieldillumination may illuminate a particular field of view, such as the farfield of view capturable by the far-field image sensor 102B. It shouldbe appreciated that the far-field illuminator source 106A and/orfar-field projection optics 108A may be designed such that the far-fieldillumination specifically illuminates the far field of view withoutproducing sufficient reflections to negatively impact the operations ofthe near-field image sensor 102A and/or far-field image sensor 102B.

Additionally or alternatively, optionally in some embodiments, themulti-sensor imaging engine 100 further comprises an aimer illuminatorsource 110. The aimer illumination source 110 is configured to producelight in the direction of the aimer projection optics 112. For example,the aimer illumination source comprises one or more laser diodes and/orhigh intensity LED(s) configured to produce sufficiently powerful and/orconcentrated light. The light is refracted through the aimer projectionoptics 112 to produce an aimer illumination, which may be produced in adesired pattern based on the configuration and design of the aimerprojection optics 112. In one example context, for purposes of barcodescanning for example, the aimer pattern may be produced as a laser linepattern.

The multi-sensor imaging engine 100 further comprises a protectivewindow 114. The protective window 114 comprises one or more opticalcomponents configured to enable produced light to exit the engine 100,and incoming light to be received through the image capture optics 104Aand 104B to interact with the corresponding image sensors 102A and 102B.In some contexts, the protective window 114 reflects at least a portionof the illumination projected by the far-field projection optics 108Aand/or near-field projection optics 108B, and which may interact withthe image sensor(s) 102A and/or 102B through light leak or through thecorresponding image capture optics 104A and/or 104B. For example, atleast a portion of the near field illumination may be reflected towardsthe far-field image sensor 102B, and negatively affect the operation ofthe far-field image sensor 102B if triggered when an illumination pulseis occurring. In at least one example context, the far-field illuminatorsource 106A produces light that is concentrated and/or otherwisesufficiently designed such that the far-field illumination produced bythe far-field projection optics 108A is not sufficiently reflected tonegatively affect the near-field image sensor 102A.

It should be appreciated that, in other embodiments, a multi-sensorimaging engine may include any number of image capture optics, imagesensors, illuminator sources, and/or any combination thereof. In thisregard, the engine may be extended to capture any number of field ofviews, which may each be associated with a corresponding illuminatordesigned for specifically illuminating a corresponding field of view.One or more of the illuminator source(s) may negatively affect operationof another illuminator. In such circumstances, when one such illuminatorsource is active, the negatively affected image sensor may be activatedbetween illumination pulses of the illuminator source as describedherein. Such operation may be implemented for any combination(s) ofilluminator source and image sensor.

In some embodiments, the multi-sensor imaging engine 100 includes one ormore processing components (e.g., a processor and/or other processingcircuitry) for controlling activation of one or more components of themulti-sensor imaging engine 100. For example, in at least one exampleembodiment, the multi-sensor imaging engine 100 includes a processorconfigured for timing the illumination pulses of the near-fieldilluminator source 106B and/or far-field illumination source 106A,and/or controlling the exposing of the near-field image sensor 102Band/or far-field image sensor 102A. In some such contexts, the processoris embodied by any one of a myriad of processing circuitryimplementations, for example as a FPGA, ASIC, microprocessor, CPU,and/or the like. In at least some embodiments, the processor may be incommunication with one or more memory device(s) having computer-codedinstructions enabling such functionality when executed by theprocessor(s). In some embodiments, it should be appreciated that theprocessor may include one or more sub-processors, remote processors(e.g., “cloud” processors) and/or the like, and/or may be incommunication with one or more additional processors for performing suchfunctionality. For example, in at least one embodiment, the processormay be in communication, and/or operate in conjunction with, anotherprocessor within an imaging apparatus, for example the processor 202 asdepicted and described with respect to FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example multi-sensor imaging apparatus, inaccordance with at least one example embodiment of the presentdisclosure. Specifically, FIG. 2 illustrates an example multi-sensorimaging apparatus 200. As illustrated, the multi-sensor imagingapparatus 200 comprises an apparatus chassis 210 for housing the variouscomponents of the apparatus. In this regard, it should be appreciatedthat the apparatus chassis may be embodied in any of a myriad of chassisdesigns, using any of a myriad of materials, and/or the like, suitableto position the various components of the multi-sensor imaging apparatus200 for operation. In at least one example context, the apparatuschassis 210 may be embodied as a handheld apparatus chassis, wearablechassis, and/or the like.

The multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 comprises the multi-sensorimaging engine 100 as described above with respect to FIG. 1. Themulti-sensor imaging apparatus 200 further comprises a processor 202.The processor 202 (and/or any other co-processor(s) and/or processingcircuitry assisting and/or otherwise associated with the processor 202)may provide processing functionality to the multi-sensor imagingapparatus 200. In this regard, the processor 202 may be embodied in anyone of a myriad of ways and may, for example, include one or moreprocessing devices configured to perform independently. Additionally oralternatively, the processor may include one or more processorsconfigured to operate in tandem via a bus to enable independentexecution of instructions, pipelining, and/or multithreading, and/or thelike. The use of the terms “processor,” “processing module,” and/orprocessing circuitry” may be understood to include a single-coreprocessor, a multi-core processor, multiple processors, microprocessor,other central processing unit (“CPU”), and/or one or more remote or“cloud” processors. In other embodiments, the processor 202 isconfigured as one or more field-programmable gate array(s) (“FPGA(s)”),application-specific integrated circuit(s) (“ASIC(s)”), and/or the like.

In at least one example embodiment, the processor 202 is configured toprovide functionality for operating one or more components of themulti-sensor imaging apparatus 200. For example, the processor 202 maybe configured for activating the far-field illuminator source 106A, thenear-field illuminator source 106B, and/or the aimer illuminator source110. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the processor202 is configured for activating the near-field image sensor 102A and/orfar-field image sensor 102B to expose the corresponding image sensor,and/or for reading out the captured data to generate an image based onthe data captured during exposure. Additionally or alternatively, insome embodiments, the processor 202 is configured to process thecaptured image(s), for example based on one or more image processingtask(s). In one such example context, the processor 202 is configured toperform attempt to detect and decode visual indicia(s), such as 1Dand/or 2D barcodes, from a captured image. In this regard, the processor202 may be configured to utilize a visual indicia parsing algorithmand/or a visual indicia decoding algorithm to provide suchfunctionality.

Additionally or alternatively, optionally in at least some embodiments,the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 further include activationcomponent 206. The activation component 206 may include hardware,software, firmware, and/or a combination thereof, configured to indicateinitiation (and/or termination) of desired functionality by the user.For example, the activation component 206 may transmit an activationsignal to cause the processor 202 to begin operation of the multi-sensorimaging engine 200, for example to begin illumination by one or more ofthe illuminator sources 106A and/or 106B, and/or capture by the imagesensors 102A and/or 102B, as described herein. Additionally oralternatively, the activation component 206 may transmit a deactivationsignal to the processor 202 to terminate the correspondingfunctionality, for example to cease scanning via the illuminator(s)and/or image sensor(s). In some embodiments, the activation component206 is embodied by one or more buttons, triggers, and/or other physicalcomponents on the body of the apparatus chassis 210. For example, in atleast one example context, the activation component 206 is embodied byone or more “trigger” components that, when engaged by an operator(e.g., when an operator squeezes the trigger), transmits a signal to theprocessor 202 to initiate corresponding functionality. In some suchembodiments, the activation component may transmit a deactivation signalto the processor 202 to cease such functionality when the component isdisengaged by the operator (e.g., when the operator releases thetrigger). Alternatively or additionally, in at least some embodiments,the activation component 206 is embodied without any components fordirect engagement by an operator. For example, the activation component206 may be embodied by hardware and/or software, or a combinationthereof, for detecting the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 has beenraised and/or positioned to a predefined “scanning” position, and/orlowered from that position to trigger deactivation.

Additionally or alternatively, optionally in at least some embodiments,the dual-imaging apparatus 200 further includes a display 208. Thedisplay 208 may be embodied by a LCD, LED, and/or other screen deviceconfigured for data provided by one or more components of the apparatus200. For example, in some embodiments, the display 208 is configured forrendering a user interface comprising text, images, control elements,and/or other data provided by the processor 202 for rendering. In someembodiments, for example, the display 208 is embodied by a LCD and/orLED monitor integrated with the surface of the apparatus chassis 210 andvisible to an operator, for example to provide information decoded froma barcode and/or associated with such information decoded from abarcode. In one or more embodiments, the display 208 may be configuredto receive user engagement, and/or may transmit one or morecorresponding signals to the processor 202 to trigger functionalitybased on the user engagement. In some such embodiments, the display 208to provide user interface functionality embodying activation component206, for example to enable an operator to initiate and/or terminatescanning functionality via interaction with the user interface.

Additionally or alternatively, optionally in at least some embodiments,the dual-imaging apparatus 200 further includes a memory 204. The memory204 may provide storage functionality, for example to store dataprocessed by the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 and/or instructionsfor providing the functionality described herein. In some embodiments,the processor 202 may be in communication with the memory 204 via a busfor passing information among components of the apparatus, and/or forretrieving instructions for execution. The memory 204 may benon-transitory and may include, for example, one or more volatile and/ornon-volatile memories. In other words, for example, the memory 204 maybe an electronic storage device (e.g. a computer readable storagemedium). The memory 204 may be configured to store information, data,content, applications, instructions, or the like, for enabling theapparatus 200 to carry out various functions in accordance with exampleembodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the memory204 includes computer-coded instructions for execution by the processor202, for example to execute the functionality described herein and/or inconjunction with hard-coded functionality executed via the processor202. For example, when the processor 202 is embodied as an executor ofsoftware instructions, the instructions may specially configure theprocessor 202 to perform the algorithms and/or operations describedherein when the instructions are executed.

Non-limiting examples implementations of the multi-sensor imaging engine100 and multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 are described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/684,124 filed Nov. 14, 2019, titled “INTEGRATEDILLUMINATION-AIMER IMAGING APPARATUSES,” the contents of which areincorporated by reference in its entirety herein. It should beappreciated that one or more of such components may be configurable toprovide the flicker reduction as described herein.

Example Visualizations of Apparatus Field of Views

FIG. 3 illustrates a visualization of the field of views capturable byan example multi-sensor image apparatus. For example, as illustratedFIG. 3 depicts the near field of view 302 and the far field of view 304capturable by the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200. As illustrated,the near field of view 302 is broader than the far field of view, suchthat more of the environment may be captured within the near field ofview 302 than the far field of view 304.

Further, as illustrated, the far field of view 304 extends further thanthe near field of view 302. In this regard, the narrow nature of the farfield of view 304 may enable capture of more detailed representations ofa particular portion of the environment as compared to the near field ofview 302. In some embodiments, the near field of view 302 and far fieldof view 304 are capturable by corresponding near field image sensor anda corresponding far field image sensor of the multi-sensor imagingapparatus 200. The near field of view 302 may be associated with a nearfocal range at a particular distance from the corresponding image sensorin the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200. Additionally oralternatively, the far field of view 304 may be associated with a farfocal range at another distance from the corresponding image sensor inthe multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200. In this regard, the near fieldfocal range may be closer than the far-field focal range, such thatobjects further from the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 are inbetter focus when captured via the far-field image sensor, allowing foran extended range as compared to the near field image sensor.

The multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may be configured for providingan illumination specifically for illuminating each of the field of views302 and 304. In this regard, an illuminator source may be specificallydesigned to match the field of view of a corresponding image sensor,such that the illumination appropriately illuminates the correspondingfield of view without overfill or underfill. Utilizing anotherilluminator source to produce an illumination and capturing during thenon-corresponding image sensor during the illumination, may result inoverfilling (e.g., when capturing using a far-field image sensor duringa near-field illumination pulse), and/or underfilling (e.g., whencapturing using a near-field image sensor during a far-fieldillumination pulse) that may affect the quality of the data in thecaptured image, such as due to having too much illumination and/or notenough as described. For example, FIG. 4 illustrates a visualization ofa near-field illumination produced by a multi-sensor imaging apparatus,specifically the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200, in accordance withat least one example embodiment of the present disclosure. In thisregard, the near-field illumination 402 may be produced so as tosubstantially or entirely illuminate the near field of view 302. Thenear-field illumination 402 may be produced in accordance with anillumination pattern that sufficiently illuminates the entirety of thenear-field of view 302 for capturing.

FIG. 5 illustrates a visualization of a far-field illumination producedby an example a multi-sensor imaging apparatus, specifically themulti-sensor imaging apparatus 200, in accordance with at least oneexample embodiment of the present disclosure. In this regard, thefar-field illumination 404 may be produced so as to substantially orentirely illuminate the far field of view 304. The far-fieldillumination 404 may be produced in accordance with an illuminationpattern that sufficiently illuminates the entirety of the far field ofview 304 for capturing by a corresponding far-field image sensor. Thefar-field illumination 404 may illuminate only a percentage of thenear-field of view 302, for example a center percentage (e.g., 25%, 50%,or the like) of the near field of view 302. In this regard, theactivation of the far-field illumination may be problematic forcapturing sufficient images of certain visual indicia, such as thosethat extend past the boundaries of the far-field of view 304 at aparticular distance. Accordingly, utilizing the appropriate illuminatorfor each image sensor while minimizing flicker and minimizingoperational time is desirable to increase the likelihood and efficiencyof successful visual indicia detecting and decoding.

Example Timing for Flicker Reduction and Efficient Operation

FIG. 6 illustrates a timing diagram associated with operationalfunctionality of a multi-sensor imaging apparatus, in accordance with atleast one example embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, thetiming diagram depicted in FIG. 6 includes activation and deactivationtimings for the various components of the multi-sensor imaging apparatus200. In this regard, it should be appreciated that the processor 202,for example, may be configured to enable activation of the variouscomponents based on the timing diagram. In at least one example context,the image sensors may be cycled between, for example such that thenear-field image sensor 102A and far-field image sensor 102B of themulti-sensor imaging apparatus 200 alternate activation. Each imagesensor activation may comprise two steps to capture a correspondingimage: exposing the image sensor, and readout from the image sensor.

As illustrated, the timing diagram includes producing of a near-fieldillumination, for example produced by a near-field illuminator source.The near-field illumination 602 comprises a plurality of illuminationpulses. In this regard, the near-field illumination may include anlength of active time (e.g., illuminator source on-time), followed by alength of inactive time (e.g., illuminator source off-time). In at leastone example context, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may beconfigured to produce the near-field illumination 602 with an on-time of1.5 milliseconds (“ms”), followed by an off-time of 14.5 ms. In thisregard, each illumination pulse may begin, last for 1.5 ms, andsubsequently end before another illumination pulse begins after 14.5 mselapses. In some embodiments, this on-time and off-time may similarly beused when activating a far-field illuminator source.

The near-field image sensor and far-field image sensor may each beactivated while the near-field illumination is produced. As illustrated,the near-field illuminator may be exposed in near-alignment with thebeginning of a near-field illumination pulse. For example, asillustrated, the near-field image sensor exposure 606 begins at therising edge 606A of the exposure operation 606, which is aligned withthe rising edge 604A for the first near-field illumination pulse 604.The illumination pulse 604 subsequently ends at the falling edge 604B,while the exposure of the near-field image sensor 606 ends at thefalling edge 606B. In this regard, the near-field image sensor isexposed during the entirety (or near entirety) of the near-fieldillumination pulse 604, maximizing the likelihood of capturingsufficient data to enable successfully completing an image processingtask such as barcode scanning. The position of the near-fieldilluminator source within the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 doesnot affect the operation of the near-field image sensor, such that theexposure may be performed without negative effects from lightreflection, for example, and enabling use of the intended illuminatorsource to improve the likelihood of successful scanning. As illustrated,the near-field image sensor is subsequently read out to generate and/orprocess a corresponding image (e.g., a first near-field image). Duringexposure and/or readout of the near-field image sensor, any other imagesensor (such as the far-field image sensor) may not be activatable inany manner, for example because the two image sensors may be controlledby a single port and a switch for controlling one image sensor at atime.

It should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the illuminationpulse may occur during any point in the exposure of an image sensor whenit is desired that the image sensor be exposed during the illuminationpulse. For example, in a circumstance where the near-field image sensoris to be exposed during the near-field illumination pulse, the exposuremay begin before the illumination pulse, the illumination pulse mayoccur at a later time during the exposure. As one such example, in thecontext where the near-field image sensor is associated with a 4.5 msexposure time value, and each illumination pulse lasts 1.5 ms, theexposure of the near-field image sensor could begin at any time betweenthe beginning of the illumination pulse and 3 ms before the illuminationpulse start time, such that the entirety of the illumination pulseoccurs during the exposure. It should be appreciated that the specifictiming may differ for any combination of differently configured imagesensor(s) and/or illuminator source(s).

Upon completion of the readout of the near-field image sensor, themulti-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may terminate processing if an imageprocessing task has been successfully completed, for example bysuccessfully detecting and/or decoding a barcode (or other visualindicia) from the captured image. In a circumstance where the imageprocessing task is not successfully completed, the multi-sensor imagingapparatus 200 may proceed to activate another image sensor forperforming a subsequent capture. In the example context as illustrated,the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may be configured to alternateactivation, such that the far-field image sensor is subsequentlyactivated upon completion of the activation of the near-field imagesensor, and visa-versa. As illustrated, the multi-sensor imagingapparatus 200 may initiate exposure of the far-field image sensor 620.To reduce the negative effects of the near-field illumination 602 on theoperation of the far-field illuminator (for example due to reflectionsoff of a protective window and/or other components), the far-field imagesensor may be exposed between illumination pulses of the near-fieldillumination 602, for example as indicated by the rising edge and thefalling edge of the exposure of the far-field image sensor fallingbetween near-field illumination pulses of the near-field illumination602. In this regard, far-field image sensor may be exposed only toambient lighting associated with the previous illumination pulse, forexample the illumination pulse 618 as illustrated. After exposure of thefar-field image sensor, the far-field image sensor is subsequently readout to generate and/or process a corresponding image (e.g., a firstfar-field image). Upon completion of the readout of the far-fieldimager, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may again terminateprocessing if an image processing task has been successfully completed,for example by successfully detecting and/or decoding a barcode (orother visual indicia) from the captured far-field image, or continue thecapture cycle otherwise.

It should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the multi-sensorimaging apparatus 200 may be configured to delay exposing one or moresensors such that the sensor is exposed either in alignment withillumination pulses and/or between illumination pulses as desired. Forexample, as illustrated, the readout of the near-field image sensor endsat the falling edge 626. However, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200may determine that the far-field image sensor cannot subsequently beexposed in time to enable exposure of the far-field image sensor betweenillumination pulses. Accordingly, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200may determining a timing offset between the falling edge 626 and asubsequent time at which exposure of the far-field image sensor mayoccur, for example as depicted by the rising edge 628. The multi-sensorimaging apparatus 200 may then delay execution until after the timingoffset has elapsed, such that the exposure of the next image sensoroccurs within desired circumstances.

The alternating capture cycle may continue for any number ofactivations, such as until one or more conditions are met. For example,as illustrated, the near-field image sensor may subsequently beactivated again for a second exposure 622 such as in circumstances wherean image processing task was not successfully completed. The secondexposure of the near-field image sensor 622 occurs in near-alignmentwith a subsequent illumination pulse of the near-field illumination 602.In some such embodiments, to ensure the next exposure of the near-fieldimage sensor is in near-alignment with an illumination pulse, themulti-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may determine another timing offsetbetween the end of the readout of the far-field image sensor, depictedby the falling edge 630, and the beginning of next near-fieldillumination pulse, depicted by the rising edge 632. The multi-sensorimaging apparatus 200 may delay the exposure until the timing offsetelapses, for example by executing other operations, processing capturedimage(s), scheduling the later execution of one or more instructions forinitiating the exposure, suspending execution (e.g., waiting), and/orthe like.

Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, one or more imagersmay be configured upon each activation that does not result insuccessfully completing an image processing task. For example, in atleast some embodiments, the far-field image sensor may be configured foreach subsequent activation to improve the likelihood that captured datais sufficient for successful processing. In one such example context, acaptured far-field image may be processed to determine whether toincrease an exposure time and/or gain associated with the far-fieldimage sensor. In this regard, the exposure time value and/or gain valuefor the far-field imager may be increased, for example by a flat amountor based on processing the captured far-field image, such as to increasethe overall brightness of subsequent captured image(s) for furtherprocessing. For example, in at least one embodiment, the multi-sensorimaging apparatus 200 may process a captured far-field image data objectto identify a white value for the captured image and compare it to adesired minimum white level threshold, and adjust the exposure timevalue and/or gain value based on one or more algorithms to result in awhite level closer to the desired minimum white level threshold.

In this regard, as illustrated, the far-field image sensor may beexposed for a second time, as depicted by the second far-field imagesensor exposure 624. During the second exposure of the far-field imagesensor 624, the far-field image sensor is exposed for a longer length oftime, for example to increase the white value of the captured image. Asdescribed, for the second exposure, the far-field image sensor mayadditionally or alternatively be configured based on a higher gainvalue.

The second exposure of the far-field image sensor 624 occurs betweenillumination pulses of the near-field illumination 602, as depicted bythe rising edge and falling edge of the second exposure of the far-fieldimage sensor 624. As illustrated, the exposure time as indicated mayrepresent a maximum exposure time for the far-field image sensor, as themulti-sensor imaging apparatus 200 activates such exposure during theentirety of the time period between two near-field illumination pulsesof the near-field illumination 602. In this regard, the far-field imagesource may not be configurable to increase the exposure time any furtherwithout negative effects on the operation of far-field image sensor dueto light of a near-field illumination pulse reflected off of one or morecomponents of the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200.

The multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may be configured for detectingan illuminator switch event indicating that the currently activeilluminator source should be switched with another illuminator source.For example, in the context of a near-field illuminator source and afar-field illuminator source, the illuminator switch event may indicatethat the near-field illuminator source should be deactivated and afar-field illuminator source should be activated. The illuminator switchevent may be detected based on any of a number of determinations. Forexample, in at least one example embodiment, the multi-sensor imagingapparatus 200 may be configured to capture a certain number of imageswithout an image processing task successfully completing beforeswitching illuminator sources. For example, the number of images to becaptured before an illuminator switch event is detected may berepresented by a stored and/or pre-determined near illuminator capturethreshold. Additionally or alternatively, the multi-sensor imagingapparatus 200 may detect an illuminator switch event at least in partdue to processing of the captured images and/or configuration settingsfor the one or more image sensors. For example, in some embodiments, themulti-sensor imaging apparatus 200 is configured to process capturedimages to determine whether a white level for the image exceeds acertain threshold. In a circumstance, for example, where a number ofcaptured images satisfying the near-illuminator capture threshold havebeen captured (for example, exceeding the threshold when counting up foreach capture), each has been processed to determine that each has awhite level value below a minimum white level threshold, and theexposure time value for the image sensor(s) is/are set to exposure timemaximum(s) and/or gain value(s) for the image sensor(s) is/are set togain maximum value(s), the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may detectan illuminator switch event. In some embodiments, one or more otherimage properties may be processed and compared with an image propertythreshold to determine whether such properties are within desiredranges. Additionally or alternatively, in at least some embodiments,only images captured by a subset of the image sensor(s), for exampleonly far-field images captured by the far-field image sensor.

The multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may detect an illuminator switchevent at the time indicated at timestamp 650. For example, themulti-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may be detected in response to eachof the captured images falling below a minimum white level threshold,and at least the exposure time value and/or gain value for the far-fieldimage sensor being set to a maximum value. In response, the multi-sensorimaging apparatus 200 may be configured to deactivate the near-fieldilluminator source, and activate the far-field illuminator source. Thefar-field illumination 608 comprises a plurality of illumination pulses.In this regard, the far-field illumination 608 may also include a lengthof active time followed by a length of inactive time. In at least oneexample context, the illumination pulses may be at a frequency matchingthe frequency of illumination pulses associated with the near-fieldillumination 602. In this regard, the far-field illumination may beconfigured for an on-time of 1.5 ms (e.g., during an illuminationpulse), and subsequently end before another illumination pulse beginsafter 14.5 ms elapses.

Upon activation of the far-field illuminator source, the multi-sensorimaging apparatus 200 may change to a mode to activate the far-fieldimage sensor together in near-alignment with a far-field illuminationpulse of the far-field illumination 608. Such exposure in near-alignmentwith the far-field illumination pulse enable capture of a far-fieldimage during illumination of the far field of view by the far-fieldillumination pulse. Additionally, the near-field image sensor maysimilarly be exposed in near-alignment with the far-field illuminationpulse without negatively affecting the operation of the far-field imagesensor.

For example, as illustrated, the exposure of the near-field image sensor612 begins in near alignment with the beginning of the first far-fieldimage pulse 610, as depicted by the rising edge 612A of the near-fieldimage sensor exposure and the rising edge 610A of the first far-fieldillumination pulse 610. In this regard, as illustrated, the near-fieldimage sensor exposure 612 occurs during the first far-field illuminationpulse 610, which ends before the end of the near-field image sensorexposure 612, as indicated by the falling edge 612B. In this regard, theoperation of the near-field image sensor may function in the same or asimilar manner during the far-field illumination 608 as during thenear-field illumination 602.

The multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may subsequently be configured todelay exposing the far-field image sensor until the far-field imagesensor may be aligned with a far-field illumination pulse. Themulti-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may be configured to determine atiming offset between the end of the near-field image readout and thenext far-field illumination pulse, such as the far-field illuminationpulse 616. For example, as depicted, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus200 may delay the exposure of the near-field image sensor until thetiming offset has elapsed, and begin exposure of the far-field imagesensor 614 in near-alignment with the far-field illumination pulse 616,as depicted by the rising edge of the far-field illumination pulse 616and rising edge of the exposure of the far-field image sensor 614. Inthis regard, the far-field image sensor may be used to capture far-fieldimages during illumination by the far-field illumination pulses. In thisregard, in a second mode after an illuminator switch event, themulti-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may operate the far-field imagesensor similar to that of the near-field image sensor by aligning bothwith produced far-field illumination pulses.

The timing of the illumination pulse(s) and/or corresponding exposuremay be determined in any one of a myriad of ways. For example, in atleast one example embodiment, the timings for activation of theillumination pulse(s) and/or image sensor exposure(s) may bepredetermined and/or hard-coded for execution by one or more associatedprocessor(s). Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, atiming offset until a next illumination pulse may be determined based onthe pulse frequency for the produced illumination, and/or an initialtime (e.g., a time at which a first illumination pulse was produced).The exposure of one or more image sensors may be appropriately timedbased on a known and/or determinable current time, an illumination pulsefrequency, the determined offset, and/or the exposure time value for theimage sensor to be exposed. For example, based on such data, exposure ofan image sensor may be triggered such that the image sensor remainsexposed for the entirety of an illumination pulse in some circumstances,and/or remains exposed entirely or partially between illumination pulsesin other circumstances.

By minimizing switching between illuminator sources, such embodimentsreduce flicker while enabling efficient and effective functionality ofboth image sensors. Each illuminator source is utilized to illuminate adesired field of view for capture by corresponding image sensor(s),increasing the likelihood of successfully completing an image processingtask such as barcode scanning. In this regard, flicker remains reducedwithout impacting the operational functionality of the multi-sensorimaging apparatus 200.

Example Processes of the Present Disclosure

Having described example apparatuses and visualizations associated withembodiments of the present disclosure, example flowcharts includingvarious operations performed by the above described apparatus(es) willnow be discussed. It should be appreciated that each of the flowchartsdepicts an example processes that may be performed by one or morecomponents of the above described apparatuses. The blocked operations ofeach process may be arranged in any of a number of ways, as depicted anddescribed herein. In some embodiments one or more operations of a firstprocess may occur in-between one or more operations, or otherwiseoperate as a sub-process, of a second process. Additionally oralternatively, the process may include some or all of the stepsdescribed and/or depicted, including one or more optional operations insome embodiments. In regards to the below described flowcharts, one ormore of the depicted operations may be optional in some, or all,embodiments of the present disclosure. Optional operations are depictedwith broken (or “dashed”) lines. Similarly, it should be appreciatedthat one or more of the operations of each flowcharts may be combinable,replaceable, and/or otherwise altered as described herein.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example process for flicker reduction in amulti-imager environment, in accordance with at least one exampleembodiment of the present disclosure. In this regard, the exampleprocess 700 may be performed by one or more specially configuredapparatuses, such as the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200. In thisregard, in some such embodiments, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200may be configured to perform one or more of the operations describedherein utilizing one or more of the components therein, such as theprocessor 202, memory 204, and/or multi-sensor imaging engine 100. Insome such embodiments, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 isconfigured for performing one or more of the operations as depicted anddescribed by executing computer program instructions stored therein, forexample in the memory 204.

The process 700 begins at operation 702. At operation 702, the process700 includes producing, utilizing a near-field illuminator source, anear-field illumination comprising at least one near-field illuminationpulse. In some such embodiments, one or more activation signal(s) may betransmitted to the near-field illuminator source to begin producing thenear-field illumination. It should be appreciated that the near-fieldillumination may include near-field illumination pulses based on adefined frequency and/or a defined pulse phase, thus defining the amountof time which an illumination pulse is produced and time between suchillumination pulses. In some embodiments, a single signal is transmittedto trigger the near-field illuminator source to produce the illuminationpulses based on the defined frequency and/or defined pulse phase. Inother embodiments, a signal may be transmitted to the near-fieldilluminator source to trigger each near-field illumination pulse basedon the defined frequency and/or defined pulse phase.

At operation 704, the process 700 includes exposing a near-field imagesensor during a first near-field illumination pulse. In someembodiments, the near-field image sensor is exposed at any time duringthe first near-field illumination pulse. For example, the exposure ofthe near-field image sensor may begin at some point in time before thefirst near-field illumination pulse, or in some embodiments after thefirst near-field illumination pulse has already begun. In at least onecircumstance where the exposure time value for the near-field imagesensor is shorter than the on-time for the first near-field illuminationpulse, the exposure of the near-field image sensor may begin after thebeginning of the near-field illumination pulse. It should be appreciatedthat the illuminator source(s) and/or image sensor(s) may be controlledby one or more processors, such as the processor 202 and/or a processorinternal to the multi-sensor imaging engine 100.

In an at least one embodiment, exposing a near-field image sensorbeginning in near-alignment with a first near-field illumination pulsestart time associated with a first near-field illumination pulse. Insome embodiments, for example, the processor 202 may determine atimestamp at which the next near-field illumination pulse will begin,and delay until in near-alignment with the next near-field illuminationpulse. In some embodiments, the exposure begins in alignment (e.g., atthe same time) as the beginning of the first illumination pulse.Alternatively or additionally, in at least some embodiments, theexposure begins within an acceptable range from the beginning of thefirst near-field illumination pulse. In at least some embodiments, theexposure of the near-field image sensor begins in response to one ormore signals transmitted to the near-field image sensor, for example anactivation signal.

At operation 706, the process 700 includes generating a near-field imagebased on the exposure of the near-field image sensor. In this regard,the near-field image may be read out from the near-field image sensor.The near-field image may represent light captured by the near-fieldimage sensor during exposure, for example which may embodies arepresentation of a near field of view illuminated by the firstnear-field illumination pulse. In some embodiments, the near-field imageis output in any one of a myriad of image formats, for example as a PNG,JPG, and/or the like.

At optional operation 708, the process 700 includes processing thenear-field image based on an image processing task. In some embodiments,for example, the processor 202 is configured to process the near-fieldimage for attempting to detect a visual indicia represented within thenear-field image, such as a 1D or 2D barcode. In one such exampleembodiment, the near-field image is processed utilizing at least avisual indicia detection algorithm to parse and/or otherwise detect avisual indicia represented within the near-field image, for example oneor more barcode detection algorithm(s) known in the art. Additionally oralternatively, in at least some embodiments, the near-field image isprocessed for attempting to decode a detected visual indicia representedwithin the near-field image. For example, in one such exampleembodiment, the detected visual indicia is decoded utilizing at least avisual indicia decoding algorithm to retrieve data encoded by thedetected visual indicia, for example one or more barcode decodingalgorithm(s) known in the art.

Additionally or alternatively, in at least one example embodiment, thenear-field image is further processed for purposes of determiningwhether one or more determined circumstances are met. For example, in atleast some embodiments, the near-field image is processed to determinean image property value for one or more image properties associated withthe near-field image. Additionally or alternatively, the image propertyvalue may be compared with one or more corresponding image propertythreshold values. In one such example context, the near-field image isprocessed to determine a white level value associated with thenear-field image, and/or the white level value may be compared with aminimum white level threshold to determine whether the white level valuefor the captured near-field image satisfies the minimum white levelthreshold. In some such embodiments, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus200 is configured to maintain and/or otherwise track the number ofcaptured images, whether such images are associated with one or moreimage property value(s) that satisfy and/or do not satisfy correspondingimage property threshold(s), and/or store each capture image to deriveone or more of such values or associated values therefrom.

At operation 710, the process 700 includes exposing a far-field imagesensor such that the exposure of the far-field image sensor is notduring a near-field illumination pulse of the near-field illumination.In this regard, the far-field image sensor may be exposed for a durationbetween two near-field illumination pulses of the near-fieldillumination. In this example context, the far-field image sensor may beexposed only to ambient lighting generated associated with thenear-field illumination. For example, ambient lighting from a previousnear-field illumination pulse may interact with the far-field imagewithout negative effects from reflections that may be present during thenear-field illumination pulse. In some embodiments, the exposure beginsin near-alignment with the end of a near-field illumination pulse, suchas at the same time as the end of the near-field illumination pulse orwithin a predetermined acceptable time after the near-field illuminationpulse ends. Additionally or alternatively, in at least some contexts,the exposure begins much after the near-field illumination pulse endssuch that the exposure time does not overlap with a subsequentillumination pulse.

At operation 712, the process 700 includes generating a far-field imagebased on the exposure of the far-field image sensor. In this regard, thefar-field image may be read out from the far-field image sensor afterthe exposure time for the far-field image sensor elapses. The far-fieldimage may represent light captured by the far-field image sensor duringexposure, for example which may embody a representation of a far fieldof view illuminated by the ambient light of a previous near-fieldillumination pulse. In some embodiments, the far-field image is outputin any one of a myriad of image formats, for example as a PNG, JPG,and/or the like. It should be appreciated that the near-field image andthe far-field image may be output in the same format or in differentformats.

At optional operation 714, the process 700 includes processing thefar-field image based on the image processing task. Similar toprocessing the near-field image for example, the processor 202 isconfigured to process the far-field image for attempting to detect avisual indicia represented within the far-field image. Additionally oralternatively, in at least one example context, the far-field image isprocessed for attempting to decode a detected visual indicia. Asdescribed, the far-field image may be processed utilizing at least avisual indicia detection algorithm and/or visual indicia decodingalgorithm to provide such functionality.

Additionally or alternatively, in at least one example embodiment, thefar-field image is further processed for purposes of determining whetherone or more determined circumstances are met. For example, in at leastone embodiment, the far-field image is processed to determine an imageproperty value for one or more image properties associated with thenear-field image. Additionally or alternatively, the image propertyvalue may be compared with one or more corresponding image propertythreshold values. In one such example context, the far-field image isprocessed to determine a white level value associated with the far-fieldimage, and/or the white level value may be compared with a minimum whitelevel threshold to determine whether the white level value for thecaptured near-field image satisfies the minimum white level threshold.The captured far-field image and/or data representing the results of oneor more associated determinations may similarly be stored in one or moredata objects embodying a number of captured images, whether such imagesare associated with one or more image property value(s) that satisfyand/or do not satisfy corresponding image property threshold(s), and/orstore each capture image to derive one or more of such values orassociated values therefrom.

At optional operation 716, the process 700 includes altering at leastone of an exposure time value for the far-field image sensor, and/or again value for the far-field image sensor. In some embodiments, themulti-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may alter the exposure time valueand/or the gain value for the far-field image sensor in response todetermining a white level value does not satisfy a corresponding whitevalue threshold. In this regard, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200may determine that the captured far-field image is not brighter than adesired brightness (e.g., represented by the white value threshold), andthus that an increased exposure time and/or gain value may be used toincrease the brightness of images captured by the far-field imagesensor. In at least one embodiment, one or more exposure time generationalgorithm(s) and/or gain value generation algorithm(s) is/are utilizedto determine the updated exposure time value and/or gain value forsetting the far-field image sensor. In at least one embodiment, theprocessor 202 transmits one or more signals to the far-field imagesensor to alter the exposure time value and/or the gain value for thefar-field image sensor by configuring such settings to an updated value.

It should be appreciated that, in some contexts, the capture cycle maybegin with the far-field image sensor, and in other contexts the capturecycle may begin with the near-field image sensor. For example, in someembodiments, the capture cycle is predetermined to always begin with oneof the near-field image sensor or far-field image sensor. In otherembodiments, the capture cycle is initialized using an image sensor thatwas previously utilized in capturing an image that was processed tosuccessfully complete an image processing task. For example, the capturecycle may begin with the image sensor that last captured an image fromwhich a barcode was successfully detected and decoded. In some suchembodiments, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may be configuredfor tracking the image sensor that was last utilized for capturing animage that was successfully processed.

It should be appreciated that, in at least some embodiments, a capturecycle may continue for any number of captures. For example, in thecontext where captures alternate between the far-field image sensor andthe near-field image sensor, flow may return to operation 704. In otherembodiments, the near-field image sensor and/or far-field image sensormay be utilized to capture any number of images before alternating tocapture via the other image sensor. For example, in one such exampleembodiment, a plurality of near-field images may be captured (e.g.,three near-field images) before alternating to the far-field imagesensor for capture. In this regard, it should be appreciated that thenear-field illumination may similarly continue for any number ofillumination pulses.

FIG. 8 illustrates additional operations for an example process forflicker reduction in a multi-imager environment, specifically forproperly aligning exposure of the far-field image sensor during anear-field illumination, in accordance with at least one exampleembodiment of the present disclosure. In this regard, the exampleprocess 800 may be performed by one or more specially configuredapparatuses, such as the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200. In thisregard, in some such embodiments, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200may be configured to perform one or more of the operations describedherein utilizing one or more of the components therein, such as theprocessor 202, memory 204, and/or multi-sensor imaging engine 100. Insome such embodiments, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 isconfigured for performing one or more of the operations as depicted anddescribed by executing computer program instructions stored therein, forexample stored in the memory 204.

In some embodiments, the process 800 is performed additional to, and/orin replacement of, one or more operations depicted and described withrespect to another process herein. For example, as illustrated, in someembodiments the process 800 begins after operation 706 as depicted anddescribed above with respect to FIG. 7. Additionally or alternatively,in at least some embodiments, at the conclusion of the process 800 flowreturns to one or more operations depicted and described with respect toanother process herein. For example, as illustrated, in someembodiments, the flow returns to operation 708 as depicted and describedwith respect to FIG. 7 upon conclusion of the process 800.

The process 800 begins at operation 802. At operation 802, the process800 includes determining a timing offset until a next near-field pulsestart time associated with a next near-field illumination pulse. In thisregard, the timing offset may represent the length of time until a nextnear-field illumination pulse begins. In some embodiments, the nextnear-field pulse start time is determined based on the pulse frequencyand/or pulse phase associated with the configured near-fieldillumination pulse. It should be appreciated that, in at least someembodiments, the timing offset is determinable based on the pulsefrequency, a previous near-field pulse start time and/or end time, afar-field sensor exposure time and/or readout time, and/or a combinationthereof.

At decision operation 804, the process 800 includes determining whetherthe timing offset exceeds the exposure time associated with thefar-field image sensor. In some such embodiments, the timing offset maybe compared with the exposure time to determine whether the exposuretime exceeds, matches, or is less than the exposure time associated withthe far-field image sensor. In this regard, the multi-sensor imagingapparatus 200 may be configured to determine the current exposure timevalue for the far-field image sensor. For example, in at least oneexample embodiment, the processor 202 is configured to transmit one ormore signals requesting the current exposure time value from thefar-field image sensor. In other embodiments, the processor 202 isconfigured to track and/or otherwise maintain the current exposure timevalue for the far-field image sensor as it is set.

By determining whether the timing offset exceeds the exposure timeassociated with the far-field image sensor, the multi-sensor imagingapparatus 200 may be configured to perform an appropriate delay actionbased on the determination. In some embodiments, in a circumstance wherethe determination indicates the timing offset does exceed the exposuretime, flow continues to operation 806. At operation 806, the process 800includes proceeding with exposing the far-field image sensor. In thisregard, the determination indicates that sufficient time remains toexpose the far-field image sensor without exposing the far-field imagesensor during a near-field illumination pulse. Accordingly, thefar-field image sensor may be exposed immediately (or with minimal delayassociated with execution of program instructions) without requiring anydelay to improve responsiveness of the embodiment. In some suchembodiments, the flow may immediately continue to exposing the far-fieldimage sensor, for example returning to operation 708 as illustrated.

In some embodiments in a circumstance where the determination indicatesthe timing offset does not exceed the exposure time, flow continues tooperation 808. At operation 808, the process 800 includes delaying for alength of time represented by the timing offset combined with thedifference between the next near-field pulse start time and a nextnear-field pulse end time associated with the next near-fieldillumination pulse. The difference between the next near-field pulsestart time and a next near-field pulse end time may be identified basedon a pulse frequency, and/or calculated based on a determined start timeand end time. In this regard, the exposure of the far-field image sensormay begin only after sufficient delay to ensure that an upcomingnear-field illumination pulse has ended, and thus will not negativelyaffect operation of the far-field image sensor. In some embodiments, thetiming offset is combined (e.g., added) with the on-time of theillumination pulse to determine a complete timing offset to delay. Themulti-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may be configured to delay in any ofa myriad of manners, for example by executing other instructions and/orprocesses during that time, suspending execution of instructions, and/orotherwise scheduling a delayed execution after the length of time haselapsed. Upon completion of the delay, the flow may continue to asubsequent operation, for example returning to operation 708 asillustrated.

FIG. 9 illustrates additional operations for an example process forflicker reduction in a multi-imager environment, specifically forproperly aligning exposure of the near-field image sensor, in accordancewith at least one example embodiment of the present disclosure. In thisregard, the example process 800 may be performed by one or morespecially configured apparatuses, such as the multi-sensor imagingapparatus 200. In this regard, in some such embodiments, themulti-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may be configured to perform one ormore of the operations described herein utilizing one or more of thecomponents therein, such as the processor 202, memory 204, and/ormulti-sensor imaging engine 100. In some such embodiments, themulti-sensor imaging apparatus 200 is configured for performing one ormore of the operations as depicted and described by executing computerprogram instructions stored therein, for example stored in the memory204.

In some embodiments, the process 900 is performed additional to, and/orin replacement of, one or more operations depicted and described withrespect to another process herein. For example, as illustrated, in someembodiments the process 900 begins after operation 712 as depicted anddescribed above with respect to FIG. 7. Additionally or alternatively,in at least some embodiments, at the conclusion of the process 900 flowreturns to one or more operations depicted and described with respect toanother process herein. For example, as illustrated, in someembodiments, the flow returns to operation 714 as depicted and describedwith respect to FIG. 7 upon conclusion of the process 900.

The process 900 begins at operation 902. At operation 902, the process900 includes determining a timing offset until a next near-field pulsestart time associated with a next near-field illumination pulse. In thisregard, the timing offset may represent the length of time until a nextnear-field illumination pulse begins. In some embodiments, the nextnear-field pulse start time is determined based on the pulse frequencyand/or pulse phase associated with the configured near-fieldillumination pulse. It should be appreciated that, in at least someembodiments, the timing offset is determinable based on the pulsefrequency, a previous near-field pulse start time and/or end time, afar-field sensor exposure time and/or readout time, and/or a combinationthereof. In some embodiments, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 isconfigured to track the time remaining until a next illumination pulseafter each near-field illumination pulse.

At operation 904, the process 900 includes proceeding with exposing thefar-field image sensor. In this regard, the determination indicates thatsufficient time remains to expose the far-field image sensor withoutexposing the far-field image sensor during a near-field illuminationpulse. Accordingly, the far-field image sensor may be exposedimmediately (or with minimal delay associated with execution of programinstructions) without requiring any delay to improve responsiveness ofthe embodiment. In some such embodiments, the flow may immediatelycontinue to exposing the far-field image sensor, for example returningto operation 708 as illustrated.

At operation 904, the process 900 includes delaying for a length of timerepresented by the timing offset before exposing the near-field imagesensor. In this regard, the exposure of the near-field image sensor maybegin in near-alignment with the next near-field illumination pulse, forexample at the same time as activation of the next near-fieldillumination pulse and/or within a predetermined offset from theactivation of the near-field illumination pulse. In some suchembodiments, some or all of the exposure may occur during the near-fieldillumination pulse such that the near-field image sensor captures a nearfield of view illuminated by the near-field illumination pulse. Itshould be appreciated that, in some contexts where the readout of thefar-field image sensor is completed immediately before and/or within apredetermined offset from the next near-field pulse start time for thenext near-field illumination pulse, no delay may be necessary. Asdescribed, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may be configured todelay in any of a myriad of manners, for example by executing otherinstructions and/or processes during that time, suspending execution ofinstructions, and/or otherwise scheduling a delayed execution after thelength of time has elapsed. Upon completion of the delay, the flow maycontinue to a subsequent operation, for example returning to operation714 as illustrated for exposing the near-field image sensor.

FIG. 10 illustrates additional operations for an example process forflicker reduction in a multi-imager environment, specifically fortriggering an illuminator switch event, in accordance with at least oneexample embodiment of the present disclosure. In this regard, theexample process 1000 may be performed by one or more speciallyconfigured apparatuses, such as the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200.In this regard, in some such embodiments, the multi-sensor imagingapparatus 200 may be configured to perform one or more of the operationsdescribed herein utilizing one or more of the components therein, suchas the processor 202, memory 204, and/or multi-sensor imaging engine100. In some such embodiments, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 isconfigured for performing one or more of the operations as depicted anddescribed by executing computer program instructions stored therein, forexample stored in the memory 204.

In some embodiments, the process 1000 is performed additional to, and/orin replacement of, one or more operations depicted and described withrespect to another process herein. For example, as illustrated, in someembodiments the process 1000 begins after operation 714 as depicted anddescribed above with respect to FIG. 7. Additionally or alternatively,in at least some embodiments, at the conclusion of the process 1000 flowreturns to one or more operations depicted and described with respect toanother process herein. For example, as illustrated, in someembodiments, the flow continues to one or more operations as depictedand described with respect to FIG. 12 upon conclusion of the process1000, such as for capturing images during production of the far-fieldillumination.

The process 1000 begins at operation 1002. At operation 1002, theprocess 1000 includes detecting an illuminator switch event. In thisregard, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may detect one or morecircumstances indicating another illuminator source, such as a far-fieldilluminator source, should be activated and the currently activeilluminator source, such as the near-field illuminator source, should bedeactivated. It should be appreciated that the illuminator switch eventmay be detected utilizing any of myriad of determinations, processes,and/or the like. In some embodiments, for example, the illuminatorswitch event is detected based at least on an elapsed activation time,for example such that the illuminator source is switched after anear-field illuminator activation threshold elapses. Additionally oralternatively, for example, in some embodiments the illuminator switchevent is detected based at least on a number of captured images, and/orone or more image properties (e.g., a white level value) associated withcaptured images and/or a subset thereof (e.g., all captured images oronly far-field images). Additionally or alternatively still, in at leastsome embodiments the illuminator switch event is detected based at leaston one more configurations of at least one of the image sensor(s), forexample based on the exposure time value and/or gain value for thefar-field image sensor to determine whether such configurations are setto a maximum value. In other embodiments, the illuminator switch eventis detected utilizing one or more object detection algorithm(s), trainedmachine learning model(s), statistical analysis model(s), and/orartificial intelligence model(s) (for example, detecting that an objectis likely present in the captured image, such as at a further range orin a field of view that would be better illuminated by an alternativeilluminator source). One example process for detecting an illuminatorswitch event is described further herein with respect to FIG. 11.

At operation 1004, the process 1000 includes deactivating the near-fieldilluminator source. In this regard, by deactivating the near-fieldilluminator source, the near-field illuminator source ceases producingnear-field illumination pulses until reactivated (if reactivated). Insome embodiments, one or more signals is/are transmitted to deactivatethe near-field illumination source. For example, in at least one exampleembodiment, the processor 202 is configured to transmit a deactivationsignal to the near-field illuminator source to cause deactivation of thenear-field illuminator source.

At operation 1006, the process 1000 includes producing, using afar-field illuminator source, a far-field illumination associated withat least one far-field illumination pulse. In some such embodiments, oneor more activation signal(s) may be transmitted to the far-fieldilluminator source producing the far-field illumination. For example, inat least one example embodiment, the processor 202 may generate and/ortransmit one or more activation signal(s) to the far-field illuminatorsource. It should be appreciated that the far-field illumination mayinclude far-field illumination pulses based on a defined frequencyand/or a defined pulse phase, thus defining the amount of time which anillumination pulse is produced and the time between such illuminationpulses. In some such embodiments, the defined frequency and/or definedpulse phase associated with the far-field illuminator source may matchthe defined frequency and/or defined pulse phase associated with thenear-field illuminator source, such that the far-field illuminationpulses are produced at the same rate and for the same length as thenear-field illumination pulses. In other embodiments, the definedfrequency and/or defined pulse phase associated with the near-fieldilluminator source differs from the defined frequency and/or definedpulse phase associated with the far-field illuminator source. In someembodiments, a single signal is transmitted to trigger the far-fieldilluminator source to produce the illumination pulses based on thedefined frequency and/or define pulse phase. In other embodiments, asignal may be transmitted to the far-field illuminator source to triggereach far-field illumination pulse based on the defined frequency and/ordefined pulse phase.

FIG. 11 illustrates additional operations for an example process forflicker reduction in a multi-imager environment, specifically fordetecting an illuminator switch event, in accordance with at least oneexample embodiment of the present disclosure. In this regard, theexample process 1100 may be performed by one or more speciallyconfigured apparatuses, such as the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200.In this regard, in some such embodiments, the multi-sensor imagingapparatus 200 may be configured to perform one or more of the operationsdescribed herein utilizing one or more of the components therein, suchas the processor 202, memory 204, and/or multi-sensor imaging engine100. In some such embodiments, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 isconfigured for performing one or more of the operations as depicted anddescribed by executing computer program instructions stored therein, forexample stored in the memory 204.

In some embodiments, the process 1100 is performed additional to, and/orin replacement of, one or more operations depicted and described withrespect to another process herein. For example, as illustrated, in someembodiments the process 1100 begins at the start of the process 1000,for example after operation 714 as depicted and described above withrespect to FIG. 10. Additionally or alternatively, in at least someembodiments, at the conclusion of the process 1100 flow returns to oneor more operations depicted and described with respect to anotherprocess herein. For example, as illustrated, in some embodiments, theflow returns to operation 1004 as depicted and described with respect toFIG. 10 upon conclusion of the process 1100. In this regard, in somesuch embodiments, the process 1100 supplants the operation 1002, and/orone or more associated operations. In some embodiments, a subset of theoperations depicted with respect to the process 1100 are performed, forexample only operations 1102 and 1104, operations 1102 and 1106, and/oronly operations 1104 and 1106. In other embodiments, each of theoptional operations as depicted are performed.

The process 1100 begins at operation 1102. At optional operation 1102,the process 1100 includes determining each captured image of a capturedimage set is associated with an image property that does not satisfy animage property threshold. In some embodiments, the captured image setmay include each captured image from all image sensors, for example suchthat the captured image set includes all near-field images and far-fieldimagers in the context of the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200. Inother embodiments, the captured image set includes images captured viaonly one of the image sensors, such as only the near-field images forprocessing and/or only the far-field images for processing. It should beappreciated that, in some embodiments, the multi-sensor imagingapparatus 200 is configured to store the captured images in the capturedimage set as each image is captured, and/or processes the captured imageand discards it after processing such that subsequent storage of thecaptured image is not required.

The multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may similarly be preconfigured toinclude image property threshold(s) for one or more image properties.Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the multi-sensorimaging apparatus 200 is configured to determine the image propertythreshold(s) associated with one or more image properties, for examplebased on data within and/or associated with the captured images. In somesuch embodiments, the value for the image property may be compared tothe image property threshold to determine whether the image propertysatisfies the image property threshold (e.g., to test whether the imageproperty value exceeds, meets, or falls below the image propertythreshold). In some embodiments, the image property satisfies the imageproperty threshold when the image property value for exceeds the imageproperty threshold. In at least one example context, the multi-sensorimaging apparatus 200 is configured to determine that each capturedimage is associated with at least a white level value that does notsatisfy a corresponding minimum white level threshold. In this regard,such captured images may be determined to be insufficiently illuminatedin circumstances where the white level value for the captured image doesnot satisfy the minimum white level threshold, and/or when no barcodeand/or other visual indicia can be detected and/or decoded from thecaptured image. It should be appreciated that such determinations mayalso be utilized in triggering altering of one or more configurationsfor a corresponding image sensor to attempt to alter the white levelvalue of subsequent captured images using the corresponding imagesensor. In some embodiments, one or more configurations of the far-fieldimage sensor are configured in response to such determinationsassociated with captured far-field image(s), for example the process mayinclude altering an exposure time value and/or gain value for thefar-field image sensor based on the processing of a white level valuefor one or more captured far-field images. Similarly, in at least oneembodiment, one or more configurations of the far-field image sensor areconfigured in response to such determinations associated with capturednear-field image(s), for example the process may include altering anexposure time value and/or gain value for the near-field image sensorbased on the processing of a white level value for one or more capturednear-field image(s). In some embodiments, the exposure time value and/orgain value for the near-field image sensor and/or far-field image sensormay be set to a value below and/or equal to one or more correspondingmaximum values, such as a maximum exposure time value and/or maximumgain value for the far-field image sensor and a maximum exposure timevalue and/or maximum gain value for the near-field imager. It should beappreciated that any of a number of other image properties may becompared to determine whether such image properties satisfy acorresponding image property threshold.

At optional operation 1104, the process 1100 includes determining anumber of captured images associated with the captured image setsatisfies a near-illuminator capture threshold. In this regard, thenear-field illuminator capture threshold may embody a value representingthe maximum number of images that may be captured before themulti-sensor imaging apparatus 200 detects an illuminator switchingevent for activating a different illuminator source. In some suchembodiments, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 is preconfiguredwith the near-illuminator capture threshold (e.g., hard-coded with avalue). In other embodiments, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200determines the near-illuminator capture threshold, for example based onthe defined pulse frequency and/or pulse phase associated with thenear-field illuminator. In some such embodiments, the multi-sensorimaging apparatus 200 is configured to determine a number of capturedimages in the captured image set, and compare the determined number withthe near-illuminator capture threshold to determine whether the numberof captured images satisfies the threshold (e.g., by being equal to orexceeding the threshold, in at least some embodiments, or counting downfrom the threshold in other embodiments). Additionally or alternatively,in some embodiments, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus tracks thenumber of captured images as images are captured, such that the numberof captured images may be compared with the near-illuminator capturethreshold, for example after each successful image readout from acorresponding image sensor.

At optional operation 1106, the process 1100 includes determining anexposure time value for at least one image sensor is equal to a maximumexposure time, and/or determining a gain value for at least one imagesensor is equal to a maximum gain value. In some embodiments, theexposure time value and/or the gain value for the corresponding imagesensor being set to a maximum value indicates that the image sensor isbeing exposed to the greatest level of illumination without directexposure during an illumination pulse. In this regard, in circumstanceswhere one or more of such configuration values is at a maximum and acorresponding image property still does not satisfy an image propertythreshold, for example where a white level value does not satisfy aminimum white level threshold, switching to another illuminator sourcemay be utilized to improve the image property for images captured by theimage sensor. For example, in at least one example context, the whitelevel value for far-field images may be increased (e.g., resulting in ahigher brightness that may enable better detection and/or decoding ofone or more visual indicia(s) within the captured image) by switching toactivate the far-field illuminator source associated with the far-fieldimage sensor when the far-field image sensor has been configured basedon maximum configurations, such as a maximum gain value and/or maximumexposure time. It should be appreciated that the maximum value for oneor more configurations may be hardware restricted, and/or may be adesign-implemented restriction (e.g., where the maximum exposure timecomprises 80% of the maximum exposure time possible via the image sensoras designed).

FIG. 12 illustrates additional operations for an example process forflicker reduction in a multi-imager environment, specifically forcapturing images utilizing a far-field illumination, in accordance withat least one example embodiment of the present disclosure. In thisregard, the example process 1200 may be performed by one or morespecially configured apparatuses, such as the multi-sensor imagingapparatus 200. In this regard, in some such embodiments, themulti-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may be configured to perform one ormore of the operations described herein utilizing one or more of thecomponents therein, such as the processor 202, memory 204, and/ormulti-sensor imaging engine 100. In some such embodiments, themulti-sensor imaging apparatus 200 is configured for performing one ormore of the operations as depicted and described by executing computerprogram instructions stored therein, for example stored in the memory204.

In some embodiments, the process 1200 is performed additional to, and/orin replacement of, one or more operations depicted and described withrespect to another process herein. For example, as illustrated, in someembodiments the process 1200 begins after operation 1006 as depicted anddescribed above with respect to FIG. 10. Additionally or alternatively,in at least some embodiments, at the conclusion of the process 1200 theflow terminates and/or returns to one or more operations depicted anddescribed with respect to another process herein.

The process 1200 begins at operation 1202. At operation 1202, theprocess 1200 includes exposing the near-field image sensor during afirst far-field illumination pulse. In some embodiments, the near-fieldimage sensor is exposed at any time during the first far-fieldillumination pulse. For example, the exposure of the near-field imagesensor may begin at some point in time before the first far-fieldillumination pulse, or in some embodiments after the first far-fieldillumination pulse has already begun. In at least one circumstance wherethe exposure time value for the near-field image sensor is shorter thanthe on-time for the first far-field illumination pulse, the exposure ofthe near-field image sensor may begin after the beginning of the firstfar-field illumination pulse. It should be appreciated that theilluminator source(s) and/or image sensor(s) may be controlled by one ormore processors, such as the processor 202 and/or a processor internalto the multi-sensor imaging engine 100, as described herein.

In at least one example embodiment, the operation 1202 includes exposingthe near-field image sensor beginning in near-alignment with a firstfar-field illumination pulse start time associated with a firstfar-field illumination pulse. In some embodiments, the processor 202 maydetermine the first far-field illumination pulse start time representinga timestamp at which the first far-field illumination pulse will begin,and delay until in near-alignment with the first far-field illuminationpulse. In some embodiments, the exposure begins in alignment (e.g., atthe same time) as the beginning of the first far-field illuminationpulse, as represented by the first far-field illumination pulse starttime. Additionally or alternatively, in at least some embodiments, theexposure begins within an acceptable range from the beginning of thefirst far-field illumination pulse. In at least one example embodiment,the exposure of the near-field image sensor begins in response to one ormore signals transmitted to the near-field image sensor, for exampleactivation signals transmitted from the processor 202 to the near-fieldimage sensor.

At operation 1204, the process 1200 includes generating a secondnear-field image based on the exposure of the near-field image sensor.In this regard, the second near-field image may represent light capturedby the near-field image sensor during exposure, for example whichembodies a representation of a near field of view illuminated by thefirst far-field illumination pulse. In at least one context, thefar-field illumination pulse illuminates only a portion of the nearfield of view, for example such that a center portion of the near fieldof view is illuminated during exposure of the near-field image sensor.In some embodiments, the second near-field image is output in any of amyriad of image formats, for example as a PNG, JPG, and/or the like.

At optional operation 1206, the process 1200 includes processing thesecond near-field image based on the image processing task. In someembodiments, for example, the processor 202 is configured to process thesecond near-field image for attempting to detect a visual indiciarepresented within the second near-field image, such as a 1D or 2Dbarcode. In one such example embodiment, the second near-field image isprocessed utilizing at least one visual indicia detection algorithm(s)and/or visual indicia decoding algorithm(s), as described herein. Inthis regard, the algorithm(s) may be executed for attempting to attemptand/or decode a visual indicia from the second near-field image.

At operation 1208, the process 1200 includes exposing a far-field imagesensor during a second far-field illumination pulse. In this regard,after detecting the illuminator switch event, the multi-sensor imagingapparatus may initiate a mode that aligns both the near-field imagesensor and far-field image sensor with the illumination pulses, sincethe far-field illumination does not overfill either of the capturedfield of views and thus does not negatively affect the capturingabilities of the image sensors via such overfilling. In this regard, thefar-field illumination pulse may be specifically designed to illuminatethe far field of view captured by the far-field image sensor. Theexposure may be performed similarly to that for the near-field imagesensor described above with respect to operation 1202. For example, insome embodiments, the far-field image sensor is exposed at any timeduring the second far-field illumination pulse. For example, theexposure of the far-field image sensor may begin at some point in timebefore the second far-field illumination pulse, or in some embodimentsafter the second far-field illumination pulse has already begun. In atleast one circumstance where the exposure time value for the far-fieldimage sensor is shorter than the on-time for the second far-fieldillumination pulse, the exposure of the far-field image sensor may beginafter the beginning of the second far-field illumination pulse. Itshould be appreciated that the illuminator source(s) and/or imagesensor(s) may be controlled by one or more processors, such as theprocessor 202 and/or a processor internal to the multi-sensor imagingengine 100, as described herein.

In at least one example embodiment, operation 1208 includes exposing thefar-field image sensor beginning in near-alignment with a secondfar-field illumination pulse start time associated with a secondfar-field illumination pulse. In some embodiments, the multi-sensorimaging apparatus 200 may determine the second far-field illuminationpulse start time representing a timestamp at which the second far-fieldillumination pulse will begin, and delay until in near-alignment withthe second far-field illumination pulse. In some embodiments, theexposure begins in alignment with the beginning of the second far-fieldillumination pulse, as represented by the second far-field illuminationpulse start time. Additionally or alternatively, in at least someembodiments, the exposure begins within an acceptable range from thebeginning of the second far-field illumination pulse. In at least oneexample embodiment, the exposure of the far-field illumination pulsebegins in response to one or more signals transmitted to the to thefar-field image sensor, for example activation signal(s) transmittedfrom the processor to the far-field image sensor.

At operation 1210, the process 1200 includes generating a secondfar-field image based on the second exposure of the far-field imagesensor. In this regard, the second far-field image may be read out fromthe far-field image sensor after the exposure time for the far-fieldimage sensor elapses. The second far-field image may represent lightcaptured by the far-field image sensor during the second exposure, forexample which may embody a representation of the far field of viewilluminated by the second far-field illumination pulse. As described, itshould be appreciated that the second far-field image may be output inany of a myriad of formats, for example as a PNG, JPG, and/or the like.

At optional operation 1212, the process 1200 includes processing thesecond far-field image based on the image processing task. Similar tothe processing described above, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200is configured to process the second far-field image for attempting todetect a visual indicia within the far-field image, and/or decoding adetected visual indicia. As described, the second far-field image may beprocessed utilizing at least a visual indicia detection algorithm and/orvisual indicia decoding algorithm to provide such functionality.

It should be appreciated that, in at least some embodiments, the capturecycle may continue for any number of captures. For example, in thecontext where captures alternate between the far-field image sensor andthe near-field image sensor, flow may return to operation 1202. In otherembodiments, the near0field image sensor and/or far-field image sensormay be utilized to capture any number of images before alternating tocapture via the other image sensor. In at least one embodiment, themulti-sensor imaging apparatus is configured to cycle through imagesensor(s) for capture using the same image capture cycle utilized duringactivation of the near-field illuminator source.

FIG. 13 illustrates additional operations for an example process forflicker reduction in a multi-imager environment, specifically forproperly aligning exposure of the far-field image sensor during thefar-field illumination, in accordance with at least one exampleembodiment of the present disclosure. In this regard, the exampleprocess 1300 may be performed by one or more specially configuredapparatuses, such as the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200. In thisregard, in some such embodiments, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200may be configured to perform one or more of the operations describedherein utilizing one or more of the components therein, such as theprocessor 202, memory 204, and/or multi-sensor imaging engine 100. Insome such embodiments, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 isconfigured for performing one or more of the operations as depicted anddescribed by executing computer program instructions stored therein, forexample stored in the memory 204.

In some embodiments, the process 1300 is performed additional to, and/orin replacement of, one or more operations depicted and described withrespect to another process herein. For example, as illustrated, in someembodiments the process 1300 begins after operation 1204 as depicted anddescribed above with respect to FIG. 12. Additionally or alternatively,in at least some embodiments, at the conclusion of the process 1300,flow returns to operation 1206 as depicted and described with respect toFIG. 12 herein.

The process 1300 begins at operation 1302. At operation 1302, theprocess 1300 includes determining a timing offset until a next far-fieldpulse start time associated with a next far-field illumination pulse. Inthis regard, the timing offset may represent the length of time until anext far-field illumination pulse begins. In some embodiments, the nextfar-field pulse start time is determined based on the pulse frequencyand/or pulse phase associated with the configured far-field illuminatorsource. It should be appreciated that, in at least some embodiments, thetiming offset is determinable based on the pulse frequency, a previousfar-field pulse start time and/or end time, a far-field sensor exposuretime and/or readout time, and/or a combination thereof. In someembodiments, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 is configured totrack the time remaining until a next far-field illumination pulse aftereach far-field illumination pulse. Accordingly, the timing offset may beutilized to sufficiently delay so as to begin exposure of the far-fieldimage sensor in near-alignment with a far-field illumination pulse, suchthat the captured data represents the illuminated far field of view.

At operation 1304, the process 1300 includes delaying for a length oftime represented by the timing offset before exposing the far-fieldimage sensor. In this regard, the exposure of the far-field image sensormay begin in near-alignment with the next far-field illumination pulse,for example at the same time as activation of the next far-fieldillumination pulse and/or within a predetermined offset from theactivation of the next far-field illumination pulse. In some suchembodiments, some or all of the exposure may occur during the nextfar-field illumination pulse such that the far-field image sensorcaptures a far-field of view illuminated by the far-field illuminationpulse. It should be appreciated that, in some contexts where an imagereadout of the near-field image sensor is completed immediately beforeand/or within a predetermined offset from the next far-fieldillumination pulse start time for the next far-field illumination pulse,no delay may be necessary. As described, the multi-sensor imagingapparatus 200 may be configured to delay in any of a myriad of mannersas described herein. Upon completion of the delay, the flow may continueto a subsequent operation for exposing the far-field image sensor, forexample returning to operation 1206 as illustrated.

It should be appreciated that, in some contexts where the readout of thefar-field image sensor is completed immediately before and/or within apredetermined offset from the next near-field pulse start time for thenext near-field illumination pulse, no delay may be necessary. Asdescribed, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may be configured todelay in any of a myriad of manners, for example by executing otherinstructions and/or processes during that time, suspending execution ofinstructions, and/or otherwise scheduling a delayed execution after thelength of time has elapsed. Upon completion of the delay, the flow maycontinue to a subsequent operation, for example returning to operation714 as illustrated for exposing the near-field image sensor.

FIG. 14 illustrates additional operations for an example process forflicker reduction in a multi-imager environment, specifically forproperly aligning exposure of the near-field image sensor during thefar-field illumination, in accordance with at least one exampleembodiment of the present disclosure. In this regard, the exampleprocess 1400 may be performed by one or more specially configuredapparatuses, such as the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200. In thisregard, in some such embodiments, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200may be configured to perform one or more of the operations describedherein utilizing one or more of the components therein, such as theprocessor 202, memory 204, and/or multi-sensor imaging engine 100. Insome such embodiments, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 isconfigured for performing one or more of the operations as depicted anddescribed by executing computer program instructions stored therein, forexample stored in the memory 204.

In some embodiments, the process 1400 is performed additional to, and/orin replacement of, one or more operations depicted and described withrespect to another process herein. For example, as illustrated, in someembodiments the process 1400 begins after operation 1210 as depicted anddescribed above with respect to FIG. 12. Additionally or alternatively,in at least some embodiments, at the conclusion of the process 1400,flow returns to operation 1212 as depicted and described with respect toFIG. 12 herein.

The process 1400 begins at operation 1402. At operation 1402, theprocess 1400 includes determining a timing offset until a next far-fieldpulse start time associated with a next far-field illumination pulse. Inthis regard, the timing offset may represent the length of time until anext far-field illumination pulse begins. In some embodiments, the nextfar-field pulse start time is determined based on the pulse frequencyand/or pulse phase associated with the configured far-field illuminatorsource. It should be appreciated that, in at least some embodiments, thetiming offset is determinable based on the pulse frequency, a previousfar-field pulse start time and/or end time, a far-field sensor exposuretime and/or readout time, and/or a combination thereof. In someembodiments, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 is configured totrack the time remaining until a next far-field illumination pulse aftereach far-field illumination pulse. Accordingly, the timing offset may beutilized to sufficiently delay activation of the near-field image sensorso as to begin exposure of the near-field image sensor in near-alignmentwith a far-field illumination pulse, such that the captured datarepresents the illuminated near field of view.

At operation 1404, the process 1400 includes delaying for a length oftime represented by the timing offset before exposing the near-fieldimage sensor. In this regard, the exposure of the near-field imagesensor may begin in near-alignment with the next far-field illuminationpulse, for example at the same time as activation of the next far-fieldillumination pulse and/or within a predetermined offset from theactivation of the next far-field illumination pulse. In some suchembodiments, some or all of the exposure may occur during the nextfar-field illumination pulse such that the near-field image sensorcaptures a near field of view illuminated by the far-field illuminationpulse. It should be appreciated that, in some contexts where an imagereadout of the far-field image sensor is completed immediately beforeand/or within a predetermined offset from the next far-fieldillumination pulse start time for the next far-field illumination pulse,no delay may be necessary. As described, the multi-sensor imagingapparatus 200 may be configured to delay in any of a myriad of mannersas described herein. Upon completion of the delay, the flow may continueto a subsequent operation for exposing the far-field image sensor, forexample returning to operation 1212 as illustrated.

In this regard, the far-field image sensor and near-field image sensormay operate differently depending on whether the near-field illuminationis active or whether the far-field illumination active. For example,when the near-field illumination is active, the near-field image sensormay be exposed in near-alignment with a near-field illumination pulse,such that the near-field illumination pulse illuminates the near-fieldof view during exposure for capturing the field of view. Additionally,when the near-field illumination is active, the far-field image sensormay be exposed between illumination pulses of the near-fieldillumination, such that only ambient lighting illuminates the near-fieldof view during such exposure. After the illumination switch event isdetected and a far-field illumination is produced, each of the imagesensors may be exposed during the illumination pulses without risk ofnegative effects on the operation of the image sensor. For example, theimaging apparatus may be triggered to enter a second mode in response tothe illuminator switch event. Accordingly, during production of thefar-field illumination, the near-field image sensor and far-field imagesensor may each be exposed in near-alignment with at least one far-fieldillumination pulse of the far-field illumination. It should beappreciated that one or more timing offsets and/or corresponding delaysmay be utilized to properly align exposure times with a desired timeframe (e.g., in near-alignment with the beginning of an illuminationpulse, or between illumination pulses).

FIG. 15 illustrates additional operations for an example process forflicker reduction in a multi-imager environment, specifically fornear-field illuminator reactivation, in accordance with at least oneexample embodiment of the present disclosure. In this regard, theexample process 1500 may be performed by one or more speciallyconfigured apparatuses, such as the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200.In this regard, in some such embodiments, the multi-sensor imagingapparatus 200 may be configured to perform one or more of the operationsdescribed herein utilizing one or more of the components therein, suchas the processor 202, memory 204, and/or multi-sensor imaging engine100. In some such embodiments, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 isconfigured for performing one or more of the operations as depicted anddescribed by executing computer program instructions stored therein, forexample stored in the memory 204.

In some embodiments, the process 1500 is performed additional to, and/orin replacement of, one or more operations depicted and described withrespect to another process herein. For example, as illustrated, in someembodiments the process 1500 begins after operation 1212 as depicted anddescribed above with respect to FIG. 12. Additionally or alternatively,in at least some embodiments, at the conclusion of the process 1500,flow returns to operation 706 as depicted and described with respect toFIG. 7 herein.

The process 1500 begins at operation 1502. At operation 1502, theprocess 1500 includes detecting a near-field illuminator reactivationevent. In this regard, the multi-sensor imaging apparatus 200 may detectone or more circumstances indicating the near-field illuminator sourceshould be reactivated. It should be appreciated that the near-fieldilluminator reactivation event may be detected utilizing any of a myriadof determinations, processes, and/or the like. In some embodiments, anear-field illuminator reactivation event is detected in response tosubsequent user engagement with one or more activation component(s)(e.g., a release and secondary trigger squeeze of an activationtrigger). Alternatively or additionally, in at least some embodiments,the near-field illuminator reactivation event is detected based on atleast an elapsed activation time for the far-field illuminator, forexample such that the near-field illuminator source is reactivated aftera far-field illuminator activation threshold elapses (e.g., thefar-field illuminator source has been active for a threshold timeperiod). Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, thenear-field illuminator reactivation event is detected based on at leasta number of captured images, and/or one or more image propertiesassociated with the captured images and/or a subset thereof. Forexample, in some embodiments, the near-field illuminator reactivationevent is detected in response to capturing a threshold number of imageswhile the far-field illuminator source is active.

At operation 1504, the process 1500 includes deactivating the far-fieldilluminator source. In this regard, by deactivating the far-fieldilluminator source, the far-field illuminator source ceases producingfar-field illumination pulses until reactivated (if reactivated). Insome embodiments, one or more signals is/are transmitted to deactivatethe far-field illuminator source. For example, in at least one exampleembodiment, the processor 202 is configured to transmit a deactivationsignal to the far-field illuminator source to cause deactivation of thefar-field illuminator source.

At operation 1506, the process 1500 includes producing a secondnear-field illumination using the near-field illuminator source. Thesecond near-field illumination may similarly be associated with a secondat least one near-field illumination pulse, each near-field illuminationpulse associated with a near-field illumination pulse start time and/orend time. In some such embodiments, one or more activation signal(s)maybe transmitted to the near-field illuminator source to produce thefar-field illumination. For example, in at least one example embodiment,the processor 202 may generate and/or transmit one or more activationsignal(s) to the near-field illuminator source. It should be appreciatedthat the near-field illumination may include near-field illuminationpulses based on a defined frequency and/or defined pulse phase, whichmay be the same as the first near-field illumination produced at anearlier operation.

Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the multi-sensorimaging apparatus 200 may alter one or more configurations for the imagesensors in response to detecting the near-field illuminator reactivationevent. For example, in some embodiments, the exposure time value and/orgain value for the near-field image sensor and/or far-field image sensormay be set to default value(s). In this regard, the component(s) may bereset to again begin attempting to complete the image processing taskutilizing the second near-field illumination.

CONCLUSION

Although an example processing system has been described above,implementations of the subject matter and the functional operationsdescribed herein can be implemented in other types of digital electroniccircuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including thestructures disclosed in this specification and their structuralequivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them.

Embodiments of the subject matter and the operations described hereincan be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computersoftware, firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed inthis specification and their structural equivalents, or in combinationsof one or more of them. Embodiments of the subject matter describedherein can be implemented as one or more computer programs, i.e., one ormore modules of computer program instructions, encoded on computerstorage medium for execution by, or to control the operation of,information/data processing apparatus. Alternatively, or in addition,the program instructions can be encoded on an artificially-generatedpropagated signal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical, optical, orelectromagnetic signal, which is generated to encode information/datafor transmission to suitable receiver apparatus for execution by aninformation/data processing apparatus. A computer storage medium can be,or be included in, a computer-readable storage device, acomputer-readable storage substrate, a random or serial access memoryarray or device, or a combination of one or more of them. Moreover,while a computer storage medium is not a propagated signal, a computerstorage medium can be a source or destination of computer programinstructions encoded in an artificially-generated propagated signal. Thecomputer storage medium can also be, or be included in, one or moreseparate physical components or media (e.g., multiple CDs, disks, orother storage devices).

The operations described herein can be implemented as operationsperformed by an information/data processing apparatus oninformation/data stored on one or more computer-readable storage devicesor received from other sources.

The term “data processing apparatus” encompasses all kinds of apparatus,devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example aprogrammable processor, a computer, a system on a chip, or multipleones, or combinations, of the foregoing. The apparatus can includespecial purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gatearray) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Theapparatus can also include, in addition to hardware, code that createsan execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g.,code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a repositorymanagement system, an operating system, a cross-platform runtimeenvironment, a virtual machine, or a combination of one or more of them.The apparatus and execution environment can realize various differentcomputing model infrastructures, such as web services, distributedcomputing and grid computing infrastructures.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative orprocedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, object, orother unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computerprogram may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. Aprogram can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programsor information/data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markuplanguage document), in a single file dedicated to the program inquestion, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store oneor more modules, sub-programs, or portions of code).

The processes and logic flows described herein can be performed by oneor more programmable processors executing one or more computer programsto perform actions by operating on input information/data and generatingoutput. Processors suitable for the execution of a computer programinclude, by way of example, both general and special purposemicroprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digitalcomputer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions andinformation/data from a read-only memory or a random access memory orboth. The essential elements of a computer are a processor forperforming actions in accordance with instructions and one or morememory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computerwill also include, or be operatively coupled to receive information/datafrom or transfer information/data to, or both, one or more mass storagedevices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, oroptical disks. However, a computer need not have such devices. Devicessuitable for storing computer program instructions and information/datainclude all forms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices,including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM,EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal harddisks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROMdisks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, orincorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subjectmatter described herein can be implemented on a computer having adisplay device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystaldisplay) monitor, for displaying information/data to the user and akeyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by whichthe user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices canbe used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example,feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g.,visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input fromthe user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, ortactile input. In addition, a computer can interact with a user bysending documents to and receiving documents from a device that is usedby the user; for example, by sending web pages to a web browser on auser's client device in response to requests received from the webbrowser.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anydisclosures or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures specific to particular embodiments of particular disclosures.Certain features that are described herein in the context of separateembodiments can also be implemented in combination in a singleembodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in thecontext of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multipleembodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover,although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the embodiments described above should not be understoodas requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should beunderstood that the described program components and systems cangenerally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described.Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In somecases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a differentorder and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processesdepicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require theparticular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirableresults. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallelprocessing may be advantageous.

1. A method for flicker reduction in a multi-imager environment, themethod comprising: producing, using a near-field illuminator source, anear-field illumination associated with at least one near-fieldillumination pulse; exposing a near-field image sensor during a firstnear-field illumination pulse of the at least one near-fieldillumination pulse; generating a near-field image based on the exposureof the near-field image sensor; exposing a far-field image sensor suchthat the exposure of the far-field image sensor is not during any of theat least one near-field illumination pulse; generating a far-field imagebased on the exposure of the far-field image sensor; detecting anilluminator switch event; and in response to the detection of theilluminator switch event: deactivating the near-field illuminatorsource; and producing, using a far-field illuminator source, a far-fieldillumination associated with at least one far-field illumination pulse.2. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising: exposing thenear-field image sensor such that the beginning of the exposure of thenearfield image sensor is near-aligned with a first far-field pulsestart time of a first far-field illumination pulse of the at least onefar-field illumination pulse; generating a second near-field image basedon the exposure of the far-field image sensor near-aligned with thefirst far-field pulse start time; exposing the far-field image sensorsuch that the beginning of the exposure of the farfield image sensor isnear-aligned with a second far-field pulse start time of a secondfar-field illumination pulse of the at least one far-field illuminationpulse; and generating a second far-field image based on the exposure ofthe far-field image sensor near-aligned with the second far-field pulsestart time.
 3. The method of claim 2, the method further comprising: inresponse to generating the second near-field image, determining a timingoffset until a next far-field pulse start time associated with a nextfar-field illumination pulse of the at least one far-field illuminationpulse, wherein the exposing the near-field image sensor near-alignedwith the second far-field pulse start time occurs after the timingoffset has elapsed. 4-8. (canceled)
 9. The method of claim 1, whereindetecting the illuminator switch event comprises: determining eachcaptured image of a captured image set is associated with an imageproperty that does not satisfy an image property threshold, wherein thecaptured image set comprises at least the near-field image and thefar-field image, wherein the captured image set comprises a number ofcaptured images, and wherein the number of captured images satisfies anear-illuminator capture threshold.
 10. The method of claim 9, whereinthe image property comprises an image white level value, and wherein theimage property threshold comprises a minimum white level threshold. 11.(canceled)
 12. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:processing the far-field image to determine an image property associatedwith the far-field image does not satisfy an image property thresholdassociated with the image property; and altering at least one of anexposure time value for the far-field image sensor or a gain value forthe far-field image sensor.
 13. (canceled)
 14. An apparatus for flickerreduction in a multi-imager environment, the apparatus comprising: amulti-sensor imaging engine comprising at least a near-field illuminatorsource, a far-field illuminator source, a near-field image sensor, and afar-field image sensor; a processor that configures the apparatus to:produce, using the near-field illuminator source, a near-fieldillumination associated with at least one near-field illumination pulse,each near-field illumination pulse associated with a near-field pulsestart time and a near-field pulse end time; expose the near-field imagesensor such that the beginning of the exposure of the near-field imagesensor is near-aligned with a first near-field pulse start time of afirst near-field illumination pulse of the at least one near-fieldillumination pulse; generate a near-field image based on the exposure ofthe near-field image sensor; expose the far-field image sensor such thatthe exposure of the far-field image sensor is not during any of the atleast one near-field illumination pulse; generate a far-field imagebased on the exposure of the far-field image sensor; detect anilluminator switch event; and in response to the detection of theilluminator switch event: deactivate the near-field illuminator source;and produce, using the far-field illuminator source, associated with atleast one far-field illumination pulse, each far-field illuminationpulse associated with a far-field illumination pulse start time and afar-field pulse end time.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, the apparatusfurther configured to: expose the near-field image sensor such that thebeginning of the exposure of the nearfield image sensor is near-alignedwith a first far-field pulse start time of a first far-fieldillumination pulse of the at least one far-field illumination pulse;generate a second near-field image based on the exposure of thefar-field image sensor near-aligned with the first far-field pulse starttime; expose the far-field image sensor such that the beginning of theexposure of the far-field image sensor is near-aligned with a secondfar-field pulse start time of a second far-field illumination pulse ofthe at least one far-field illumination pulse; and generate a secondfar-field image based on the exposure of the far-field image sensornear-aligned with the second far-field pulse start time.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 15, the apparatus further configured to: in responseto generating the second near-field image, determine a timing offsetuntil a next far-field pulse start time associated with a next far-fieldillumination pulse of the at least one far-field illumination pulse,wherein the exposing the near-field image sensor near-aligned with thesecond far-field pulse start time occurs after the timing offset haselapsed.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15, the apparatus further configuredto: in response to generating the second far-field image, determine atiming offset until a next far-field pulse start time associated with anext far-field illumination pulse of the at least one far-fieldillumination pulse, wherein the exposing the near-field image sensornear-aligned with the first far-field pulse start time occurs after thetiming offset has elapsed.
 18. The apparatus of claim 14, the apparatusfurther configured to: in response to generating the near-field image,determine a timing offset until a next nearfield pulse start timeassociated with a next near-field illumination pulse of the at least onenearfield illumination pulse; and determine the timing offset is longerthan an exposure time associated with the far-field image sensor,wherein the exposing the far-field image sensor occurs in response todetermining the timing offset is longer than the exposure timeassociated with the far-field image sensor.
 19. The apparatus of claim14, the apparatus further configured to: in response to generating thenear-field image, determine a timing offset until a next nearfield pulsestart time associated with a next near-field illumination pulse of theat least one nearfield illumination pulse, wherein the exposing thefar-field image sensor occurs after delaying for a length of timerepresented by the timing offset combined with a difference between thenext near-field pulse start time associated with the next near-fieldillumination pulse and a next near-field pulse end time associated withthe next near-field illumination pulse.
 20. The apparatus of claim 14,the apparatus further configured to: in response to generate thefar-field image, determining a timing offset until a next nearfieldpulse start time associated with a next near-field illumination pulse ofthe at least one nearfield illumination pulse, wherein the exposing thenear-field image sensor occurs after the timing offset has elapsed. 21.The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the near-field illuminator sourceproduces the at least one near-field illumination pulse based on adefined pulse frequency and a defined pulse phase, and wherein thefar-field illuminator source produces the at least one far-fieldillumination pulse based on the defined pulse frequency and the definedpulse phase.
 22. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein to detect theilluminator switch event, the apparatus is configured to: determine eachcaptured image of a captured image set is associated with an imageproperty that does not satisfy an image property threshold, wherein thecaptured image set comprises at least the near-field image and thefar-field image, wherein the captured image set comprises a number ofcaptured images, and wherein the number of captured images satisfies anear-illuminator capture threshold.
 23. The apparatus of claim 22,wherein the image property comprises an image white level value, andwherein the image property threshold comprises a minimum white levelthreshold.
 24. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the beginning of theexposure of the far-field image sensor is near-aligned with a firstnear-field pulse end time of the first near-field illumination pulse.25. The apparatus of claim 14, the apparatus further configured to:process the far-field image to determine an image property associatedwith the far-field image does not satisfy an image property thresholdassociated with the image property; and alter at least one of anexposure time value for the far-field image sensor or a gain value forthe far-field image sensor.
 26. The apparatus of claim 14, the apparatusfurther configured to: detect a near-field illuminator reactivationevent; deactivate the far-field illuminator source; and produce thenear-field illumination using the near-field illuminator source.
 27. Acomputer program product for flicker reduction in a multi: imagerenvironment, the computer program product comprising at least onenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer programcode stored thereon, the computer program code, in execution with atleast one processor, configured for: producing, using a near-fieldilluminator source, a near-field illumination associated with at leastone near-field illumination pulse, each near-field illumination pulseassociated with a near-field pulse start time and a near-field pulse endtime; exposing a near-field image sensor such that the beginning of theexposure of the nearfield image sensor is near-aligned with a firstnear-field pulse start time of a first near-field illumination pulse ofthe at least one near-field illumination pulse; generating a near-fieldimage based on the exposure of the near-field image sensor; exposing afar-field image sensor such that the exposure of the far-field imagesensor is not during any of the at least one near-field illuminationpulse; generating a far-field image based on the exposure of thefar-field image sensor; detecting an illuminator switch event; inresponse to the detection of the illuminator switch event: deactivatingthe near-field illuminator source; and producing, using a far-fieldilluminator source, associated with at least one far-field illuminationpulse, each far-field illumination pulse associated with a far-fieldillumination pulse start time and a far-field pulse end time. 28-39.(canceled)